Just in case everyone wasn't aware of this, my sister in law has an awesome blog of her own. She always has these fantastic write ups, a real sage of our times. All summer she's been on blog break because the mini schmitzs have been keeping her quite occupied. But she's back, bringing in her wake the antics of my nieces, the woes and joys of motherhood, and many more interesting insights on our world occurances and behaviours.
So, if you're looking for an interesting read, and my whinning about canucks playing badly and complaining about lean cuisines that don't task good are boring you, check her out. She's a link on the right hand side of my blog.
Glad you're back sarah, I miss you terribly!
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Saturday, September 23, 2006
When what I believe makes enemies
I had a very interesting night tonight, filled with happiness and excitment, but with one sour note that leaves me a little restless and unable to sleep.
I went out for dinner for my best friend's boyfriend's birthday. I started the evening out by being met at the door by a great guy that I've just started hanging out with. We walked together to the restaurant a little earlier than when we had to meet the others, strolled around downtown just talking about each others lives and families, what we want of the future. We've discovered that we come from alot of the same experiences, christian homes and larger family, and that we share beliefs, morals, and faith. It was just so nice to walk and talk. We finally went to the restaurant, and everyone had already arrived for the get together. My best friend had introduced this guy to me, as they had just recently met in class, so he knew her and her boyfriend and my best friends roommate, but we did not know any other guests. But he threw himself right in there chatting with everyone, making people feel at ease, being nice, and himself and it was great.
At one point my friends roommate, another guest, and I needed to go and pay our bills together downstairs. We began a chat briefly about voting last elections, continuing a conversation from the dinner table, when I said I had voted conservative. Now, here's where the evening kinda gets ugly.
She asked me why i would do that. I explained that because of their view of the family and pro life stance. She proceeded to attack me with questions such as 'well have you ever even met someone thats had an abortion? How could you take that right from someone, ruin someone's life, and a childs' ......
so on and so forth. I, in the mean time, try to remain polite and open, explaining what i believe, but in an statement sense, because i really don't want to start an argument with my best friends roommate in a restaurant. I was civil, but didn't back down. Unfortunately, when someone believes in what they think is right very strongly, its difficult to break down that barrier, and I could see how hostile and angered she was getting, and suggested we could chat another time, share each others ideas and reasons. At this point we reached the dinner table, and she loudly stated, 'I just don't want to talk about this. Not going to happen ever', just so abruptly, as if I had been saying evil things to her, it was just, like WOW....
The young man I was with looked up, concerned, and said 'whats wrong guys? What can't you talk about ever?' and the roommate said: 'Abortion. Not talking about it.'
He, meanwhile, states: 'I don't think I could ever do that, its such a sad thing'. The roommates eyes went big and said 'we're not talking about it'.
Huge damper on things...the rest of the group was heading out, so my companion and I decided, since we both had early mornings, we'd head our own way. As we slowly made our way back to my place, we discussed what had happened. I basically told him this:
I believe in pro life because I think its wrong to take a life. You cannot say that its better off that way, that it would have been poor, or abused. Its not your choice to make. Its Gods. If we choose here, we start to kill people that drain society, like the old, people that do nothing, like the homeless, people who can't contribute, like the handicapped. I think young women that make this choice don't know what it is they are getting into, because they have no idea what an abortion really is, what it can do to your emotional/mental health, how it can harm you physically, and how later in life, when they have children with their spouses, they'll look at those children and constantly wonder about the one they murdered in ignorance.
Yet, I won't force my beliefs on another person. I didn't force her to ask me what I thought. I shared my belief. I didn't hate her for thinking differently than I did, yet I could feel this intense dislike of me, solely because I thought differently. I shared with him that I want to be tolerant and accepting that others will make different choices than I will, but that, if by speaking out in a situation, I can affect a different out come, I will do so. I wouldn't stop being friends with someone who had an abortion, but I would try my darndest to keep them from doing it.
I said I hoped that I didnt insult the roommate, and that it didnt affect my friendship with my best friend, who really loves and admires her roommate as a person. But if it came down to changing what I stand for or losing a friend, unfortunately, I would choose my beliefs.
Thankfully, he really admired that stand, where i was coming from. He said he completely believes in that, in me, and thinks the very same of himself. We had a great evening between us, a nice walk around/by the canal, and we're meeting up tomorrow evening to go to church together, which is fantastic.
But I can't help but feel this grey cloud over me, where i'm slowly being pushed on all sides because, more and more, I'm making a stand for the christian I am, for the God I believe in, and the morals I live my life by. I'm scared that in the morning, I'll discover I've lost my best friend because of a short, ill fated conversation with her roommate, because I know my friend thinks and believes along the same lines as her roommate.
All I can do is pray about this, thank God for the blessing of this great new friend, and hope that you all have some advice about how I can handle this.
Oh, by the way, I also made the mistake of telling everyone my parents stopped by to visit to bring me 2 really important things. They asked what. I said my license and my Bible. I've never experienced the looks I got from that dinner table before in my life. Neither have I experienced the smile of understanding from the guy across the table from me. At least I had that.
I went out for dinner for my best friend's boyfriend's birthday. I started the evening out by being met at the door by a great guy that I've just started hanging out with. We walked together to the restaurant a little earlier than when we had to meet the others, strolled around downtown just talking about each others lives and families, what we want of the future. We've discovered that we come from alot of the same experiences, christian homes and larger family, and that we share beliefs, morals, and faith. It was just so nice to walk and talk. We finally went to the restaurant, and everyone had already arrived for the get together. My best friend had introduced this guy to me, as they had just recently met in class, so he knew her and her boyfriend and my best friends roommate, but we did not know any other guests. But he threw himself right in there chatting with everyone, making people feel at ease, being nice, and himself and it was great.
At one point my friends roommate, another guest, and I needed to go and pay our bills together downstairs. We began a chat briefly about voting last elections, continuing a conversation from the dinner table, when I said I had voted conservative. Now, here's where the evening kinda gets ugly.
She asked me why i would do that. I explained that because of their view of the family and pro life stance. She proceeded to attack me with questions such as 'well have you ever even met someone thats had an abortion? How could you take that right from someone, ruin someone's life, and a childs' ......
so on and so forth. I, in the mean time, try to remain polite and open, explaining what i believe, but in an statement sense, because i really don't want to start an argument with my best friends roommate in a restaurant. I was civil, but didn't back down. Unfortunately, when someone believes in what they think is right very strongly, its difficult to break down that barrier, and I could see how hostile and angered she was getting, and suggested we could chat another time, share each others ideas and reasons. At this point we reached the dinner table, and she loudly stated, 'I just don't want to talk about this. Not going to happen ever', just so abruptly, as if I had been saying evil things to her, it was just, like WOW....
The young man I was with looked up, concerned, and said 'whats wrong guys? What can't you talk about ever?' and the roommate said: 'Abortion. Not talking about it.'
He, meanwhile, states: 'I don't think I could ever do that, its such a sad thing'. The roommates eyes went big and said 'we're not talking about it'.
Huge damper on things...the rest of the group was heading out, so my companion and I decided, since we both had early mornings, we'd head our own way. As we slowly made our way back to my place, we discussed what had happened. I basically told him this:
I believe in pro life because I think its wrong to take a life. You cannot say that its better off that way, that it would have been poor, or abused. Its not your choice to make. Its Gods. If we choose here, we start to kill people that drain society, like the old, people that do nothing, like the homeless, people who can't contribute, like the handicapped. I think young women that make this choice don't know what it is they are getting into, because they have no idea what an abortion really is, what it can do to your emotional/mental health, how it can harm you physically, and how later in life, when they have children with their spouses, they'll look at those children and constantly wonder about the one they murdered in ignorance.
Yet, I won't force my beliefs on another person. I didn't force her to ask me what I thought. I shared my belief. I didn't hate her for thinking differently than I did, yet I could feel this intense dislike of me, solely because I thought differently. I shared with him that I want to be tolerant and accepting that others will make different choices than I will, but that, if by speaking out in a situation, I can affect a different out come, I will do so. I wouldn't stop being friends with someone who had an abortion, but I would try my darndest to keep them from doing it.
I said I hoped that I didnt insult the roommate, and that it didnt affect my friendship with my best friend, who really loves and admires her roommate as a person. But if it came down to changing what I stand for or losing a friend, unfortunately, I would choose my beliefs.
Thankfully, he really admired that stand, where i was coming from. He said he completely believes in that, in me, and thinks the very same of himself. We had a great evening between us, a nice walk around/by the canal, and we're meeting up tomorrow evening to go to church together, which is fantastic.
But I can't help but feel this grey cloud over me, where i'm slowly being pushed on all sides because, more and more, I'm making a stand for the christian I am, for the God I believe in, and the morals I live my life by. I'm scared that in the morning, I'll discover I've lost my best friend because of a short, ill fated conversation with her roommate, because I know my friend thinks and believes along the same lines as her roommate.
All I can do is pray about this, thank God for the blessing of this great new friend, and hope that you all have some advice about how I can handle this.
Oh, by the way, I also made the mistake of telling everyone my parents stopped by to visit to bring me 2 really important things. They asked what. I said my license and my Bible. I've never experienced the looks I got from that dinner table before in my life. Neither have I experienced the smile of understanding from the guy across the table from me. At least I had that.
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Cash flow revives! Praise be to Jesus!
For all you who know me well: I have been desperately searching for a job. Lucky for me, as of last Sunday, God most definitely answered my prayers in providing me a great job working at my university residence's front desk. Seeing as I live in the residence, this equals an easy commute, and a chance to see most of my friends in residence. It pays well, and they offer summer positions!
So wish me luck, and thanks for all the prayers.
Please check out this verse, which was the topic of the sermon at church, which i attended a few hours after I got the news of the job:
Matthew 6:33---But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
In other words...he will provide for you, if you put him above all else.
So wish me luck, and thanks for all the prayers.
Please check out this verse, which was the topic of the sermon at church, which i attended a few hours after I got the news of the job:
Matthew 6:33---But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
In other words...he will provide for you, if you put him above all else.
Friday, September 15, 2006
Senseless Stupidity
I would just like to briefly write on the shootings in montreal, and the ripple-affect it has had on Canada. The senseless murder and attempted murder of fellow students and professors, as well as university staff, leaves us breathless, shocked and quite frankly, worried that such an act of violence could be metted out in a country bent on promotting peace above all else. It also worries us to the point where we question if we are safe to go about life as we knew it before the Dawson College shootings. We come to question the security at our campuses. Institutions of learning and growth, with seas of students walking to classes, could be a blood bath in seconds. Who monitors people walking on to a campus? Some urban universities meld into the cities that surround them. Anyone can walk into a building in the daytime. Some security may exist in dormitories and major buildings, but with the large amount of traffic, the results of openess could be deadly.
My main point in posting this today was that yesterday afternoon, at my university in Ottawa, a gang of guys in a car shot an air gun off at a crowd of students standing outside of a building. People ran screaming, diving to the ground, seeking cover as the car sped off. Luckily, no one was hurt, and doubly, someone took down the license plate, and these fine young men were caught and are currently facing charges. The absolute senseless stupidity of this act boggles the mind. I stared, unbelievingly at the scene of chaos that ensued.
We live in a world where stupidity reigns supreme, where idiots can drive on to a campus the day after a mass shooting at another school, and pretend to shoot up a crowd.
My main point in posting this today was that yesterday afternoon, at my university in Ottawa, a gang of guys in a car shot an air gun off at a crowd of students standing outside of a building. People ran screaming, diving to the ground, seeking cover as the car sped off. Luckily, no one was hurt, and doubly, someone took down the license plate, and these fine young men were caught and are currently facing charges. The absolute senseless stupidity of this act boggles the mind. I stared, unbelievingly at the scene of chaos that ensued.
We live in a world where stupidity reigns supreme, where idiots can drive on to a campus the day after a mass shooting at another school, and pretend to shoot up a crowd.
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Classes, texbooks, line ups and kraft dinner...oh my!
Hello folks!
I write to you during one of my brief moments in my dorm room here at U of O. I should have remembered how busy 6 classes can keep a person! Due to the nature of some of my classes, I have been scrambling aimlessly around campus searching for books and textbooks that might be cheaper than say, the campus bookstore. Taking English literature classes results in booklists a mile long, and the hunt for a used bookstore with plenty of options essencial. I'm liking school so far, and in case anyone is wondering, here are the classes I'm taking this semester:
Art History
History of the Republic of Rome
World English Lit
Children's Lit
History of New France
Philosophy Critical and rational thought
Quite a list, and quite alot of reading. I have a nice pile of receipts from my purchases so far, and it makes me bite my nails just a bit. Thankfully, I have a job interview today for a job on campus, so I'm praying I get it, as I receive no government funding, and am paying for this thrill ride from my own little pocket.
But, on a positive note, I'm making friends, and feeling comfortable being back in the element of campus life. I've seen some old friends, which is always nice, and I have my younger brother near by to spend time with, and one of my older ones a short walk away.
Also, my family is all much closer now, so I can run home to mom and dad when needed. Family is very important to me, and when I can get away from life for the weekend to read winnie the pooh books to micah and eva, and pretend that I'm a jungle gym from which my nieces can hang off I feel I can make it through anything...even student poverty!
So, thanks to everyone rooting for me to make it through this, it means the world to me!
I write to you during one of my brief moments in my dorm room here at U of O. I should have remembered how busy 6 classes can keep a person! Due to the nature of some of my classes, I have been scrambling aimlessly around campus searching for books and textbooks that might be cheaper than say, the campus bookstore. Taking English literature classes results in booklists a mile long, and the hunt for a used bookstore with plenty of options essencial. I'm liking school so far, and in case anyone is wondering, here are the classes I'm taking this semester:
Art History
History of the Republic of Rome
World English Lit
Children's Lit
History of New France
Philosophy Critical and rational thought
Quite a list, and quite alot of reading. I have a nice pile of receipts from my purchases so far, and it makes me bite my nails just a bit. Thankfully, I have a job interview today for a job on campus, so I'm praying I get it, as I receive no government funding, and am paying for this thrill ride from my own little pocket.
But, on a positive note, I'm making friends, and feeling comfortable being back in the element of campus life. I've seen some old friends, which is always nice, and I have my younger brother near by to spend time with, and one of my older ones a short walk away.
Also, my family is all much closer now, so I can run home to mom and dad when needed. Family is very important to me, and when I can get away from life for the weekend to read winnie the pooh books to micah and eva, and pretend that I'm a jungle gym from which my nieces can hang off I feel I can make it through anything...even student poverty!
So, thanks to everyone rooting for me to make it through this, it means the world to me!
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