The Week After Conferece

13 Days Later

It’s been a little under 2 weeks since sONE finished and it was awesome. I couldn’t be more proud of the service team and all the others that came and wanted to come closer to God.

It’s funny because in the homily, we were told to be prophets of the new age. To be prophets, we must be one with God.

Last weekend was Whitewater Rafting. It was a huge gong show, if anything needed to be said about it. I can keep complaining about lack of support but that’s growing pains for any young endeavor. This marks the first project that I put. The readings on the Thursday before the big day were:

“I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith”

(2 Tim)

“The Lord has set me free from all my fears” (Psalms)

I have read these before and it just reminded me of how God is ever reassuring and if we give ourselves to him then we are in good hands. It’s hard to give our lives when we are so in control that simply giving it up can’t happen. That’s what Whitewater rafting is. We give our hands to the guide who knows the river more and we are pushed so that we can enjoy the slides and the changing flow of the current. The river is our life and the guide is God in reality. Our lives change, we could sometimes float but there are rapids up ahead. If anything, I’d want to hit more rapids, even though I have to work hard for it. Life’s more interesting that way. Thanks to Jason for being a great guide. (Not you, Diala!)

I’ve also been receiving great visions for things to happen at the close of C4 for Calgary. I pray that God’s grace and Spirit be upon YFC Calgary for the awesome ride ahead. Hold on!

Feeling Nostalgic

The thing is, no matter where the fruit ends up landing, it can always be traced back to the tree that bore it. Ha, that's deep, I just made that up. Hey everybody, I just made up something...again. Or, just copied something but I don't remember where I got it from.

I got Youth Camp blogs coming soon.

What I want...is for the Flames to win the Cup

So, in the wake of Michael Keenan’s hire to become the new head coach of the Calgary Flames, we might get what a lot of Flames fans want, defensive, hard nosed play that will surely be remembered by any opposition when they’re nursing their bruises. I have confidence in Sutter’s recent pick, since Jim Playfair sucked totally. Flames fans will hope to get what they’ve been wanting – the silver from Lord Stanley’s mantle.

Speaking of wants, I’ve been at this new job for 6 weeks and I have been buying a couple of things here and there, but not the ones that are the big goals for the season. Without further adieu, here is my 2007 wants list:

Technology and Gaming:

• Nintendo Wii – for intense interaction
• Sony PlayStation 3 – for the new games and a Blu-Ray player
• Nikon D40 Digital SLR – because I think I’ve graduated from P/S
• Samsung Micro Compact DivX Camcorder – for random moments to post on Facebook
• A new laptop – bottom of my list for sure since I’m not sure when this one will come along.

Clothing and Accessories:

• A Flames Jersey
• A new suit – navy or black, for everyday wear and my old ones are years old and outdated
• A lot of V-necks – shirts, sweaters and long sleeves
• A spring/summer jacket – that will mostly be used all the time
• A windbreaker – another jacket but more athletic
• ASICS Gel Sensei – I know where they are, I just don’t know when I’ll get them
• New gym clothes – because I plan to work out/run more than I did in the winter
• New watch – maybe two, as I do annually, top picks are:
  • Nixon metal atom
  • Leather dress watch, probably Guess? Or a cheap Bulova

Training and Equipment:

• Swim lessons – which have been booked
• Golf lessons plus clubs – since I’m in business, as my boss said, I have to learn
• Aikido training – I think I’ve decided on this one since it fits my personality and I totally use the workout and the discipline
• Scuba diving license and at least a wetsuit and fins – I promised myself this, probably after conference and summer finals

Trips:

• Victoria – to go snorkeling
• A lake in Banff – to go diving
• Canmore or Kananaskis – to go Rafting/Kayaking and Hiking and Camping

I think that’s all of it for now. It’s my shortest list yet since most of the items are pretty expensive, I’ll slowly work my way through them. I have conference and tuition to pay for and I haven’t applied for my student loan yet.

Y’all overworked?

New StatsCan reports show that “Canadian teenagers ranked first in terms of average hours spent on unpaid and paid labour during the school week when compared to nine other countries.”

The total work they do is about the same as “a 50-hour workweek, virtually the same as the adult population doing the same activities.”

"The time teens spent on these skill-enhancing activities is arguably a positive investment in their long-term personal and economic well-being. However, not surprisingly, the relatively high workloads involved do result in some stress."

“For example, 16% considered themselves workaholics, 39% felt under constant pressure to accomplish more than they could handle, and nearly two-thirds (64% per cent) cut back on sleep to get things done.”

“Less than half (45%) of teenagers who reported high stress reported being very happy or very satisfied with life, significantly lower than the 72% who reported little or no stress.”

Parents think all teens do is go online (Facebook, Xanga), but “60% of teens average 2 hours and 20 minutes a week.” I sort of don’t believe this one.

The study says that “teens were significantly more likely to do homework if both parents had a university education, if they lived in a two-parent intact family (where a divorce has not taken place), and if their parents were foreign-born.”

"Interestingly, boys with Canadian-born parents did significantly less homework than girls in similar families, and less than either girls or boys with immigrant parents."

The study also found that working part-time interferes with schoolwork for many teens and can increase the stress levels of teens.

Teens are pitching in around the house, with nearly four in 10 averaging about an hour of housework a day, according to the time use data.

I can relate to this, even though I’m no longer a “teen”. For full article, click here.