by turkish romeo boy

Of the various things I wish I could be, I wish I could be a photographer to take pictures like this...

I'm not really sure of where to start with what I want to say... or what I want to ask... hmph. There continues to be a problem, in the hearts of all mankind, an inherent desire to prove or boast about one thing being better than another. This felt need is more then apparant, especially here at Briercrest, in the never-ending debate of who is the better country. Over the years I've seen Canadians slightly bittered by being the country next to the land of freedom and opportunity, responding in the way we shine best... through comedy. Jokes, television shows, commercials with animated beavers, Canadians wanting to prove that we're worth something, but as is oft in trying to gain worth, or 'equality', the effort exceeds trying to be at level with others to trying to above and beyond. I have heard Canadians diss America. I have heard Americans diss Canada. I have heard Americans rant about all that is corrupt and wrong in their country. I have heard Canadians reject their country because of the things they haven't done right. I have felt the weight of those who think that Canada is nothing but hethenistic wasteland and today I heard the bitter frustration of an American friend who has felt the weight of Canadians who press upon him the opposite opinion. What I want to know is (or ask)

why do we gotta be like that?

Neither Canada nor America is perfect, and they are both oceans away from being the promised land. There is a desperate attitude of unforgiveness when it comes to the other party's faults; please do not think I'm saying we should have any sort of complacent leniency towards those downfalls. I just don't think that consistently boasting about one's greatness (and coincedently shoving the others faults in their face) would encourage anyone to see what is right.

C.S. Lewis once noted "that though the world is slow to forgive, it is quick to forget." And his observation is well displayed in a story of how a girl and her friend had gotten into a tiff over some small disagreement. The girl refused to speak to her friend, she in fact outrightedly ignored her, until her friend would ask for forgiveness over the matter. Six months passed before her friend finally broke down and begged the girl to forgive her, by which point the girl had long forgotten what it was they had argued over, though she had certainly remembered that she wasn't talking to her friend. It makes me wonder if we have moved past being unforgiving because we see a fault, to seeing only fault because we are unforgiving. I could be wrong but I don't think the person who said we should forgive and forget meant that we should pretend like the wrong we are forgiving never happened, but that instead we will not hold that wrong against them. If we forgot everything that we forgave I'm pretty sure we'd just end up continuously making the same mistakes over and over again instead of learning from the times we've messed up (I'm emcompassing learning from our own mistakes as well as learning from others mistakes). I wonder if maybe that's why history repeats itself...

I had meant this to be a short post... anyhow, I want to say: America I'm sorry. Please forgive me for ever having a condescending attitude, for ever mentioning your downfalls in jest. Please forgive me if I have ever been complacent or over lenient.

I know my country is faulted, but if everyone who sees all that is wrong with it leaves then who is left to help others see the truth?

You Are a Pundit Blogger!

Your blog is smart, insightful, and always a quality read. Truly appreciated by many, surpassed by only a few.

What kind of blogger are you?

anyone shocked... surprised.. anyone??... right...

(for anyone who is curious, someone who is pundit has been admitted to membership in a scholarly feild, in this case the scholarly feild of blogging... scholary... blogging...)

Ok, the polls have shown that there is a high interest in seeing some pictures from that fateful evening in which I lost my hair... everytime I think about it Kristen Dunsts' voice pops in my head, when she played Amy March in Little Women, exclaiming "Oh Jo, your one true beauty"... ha. All right folks, ye asked, and ye shall recieve...

Kris, myself and Dez: the before picture



more before pictures, because they're really cool... Kris took this one of my fantastic dreads



Dez and I, aaaw, aren't we cute?



ok, on with the show, dez went first



and she looks oh so cute!



next in the lineup was Kris,



here you can see the face of our beautiful assistant, Alison



and lastly, myself





The here after... that is Dawn in the front.



so there it is... hope you've enjoyed the show!

a cold christmas day by aquasixio

Some Random Thoughts

First off, I need to poll the audience. The girls and I did indeed follow through with shaving our heads for the cancer fundraiser, and there were an amazing amount of pictures taken. What I would like to know is if any of you would like to see pictures from that evening.

Second, Christmas is two weeks from today. I have met some cynics of the Christmas season, mostly due to take over of commercialization, this is highly unfortunate for the holiday season still holds many good things. Although it is incredibly doubtful that December 25th is the actual birthdate of Jesus, and although we should always remember this, it is good to have a day dedicated to the fact that God humbled himself for us. I am also excited to see my family, I miss them, and my friends there, I miss them too. Also the holidays means three weeks with no deadlines, no homework, no work even, and that's the best gift I think I will get, a break spent with my family. ok... so... what are you looking foward to this holiday season? Or what do you look foward to every holiday season?

Third! I have promised to make a 'special mention' to a new friend of mine. Would all the blogger readers please give a warm welcome to Solomon. I met him on the internet!! Ha, there's more to it than that... but it goes to show how the world is full of strange connections. I met him through Erin, my roommate from second year, or rather through an email she sent out. Anyhow turns out we both know Joe Dueck, who runs the youth centre I volunteer at. Yay for random associations...

ok, I think that is all.

wait by pure anodyne

It's the last week of classes, the semester is coming to an end, an interesting and challenging semester.

God has taught me a lot about humility and learning to wait on him in everything; even right down to my mental processes. I've heard it and said it again and again that we need to make sure our thought life is 'in control', but to try and see life through God's eyes is a challenge of greater difficulty. A friend noted to me in an email, that "when we can get our mouth to only speak the truth that we have in our heart and not allow our emotions and our opinion to be in control instead of what God's Word says, we will understand what real faith is." This concept would speak for our actions as well, when we learn to act and react from the knowledge we have in our hearts instead of from our emotions and opinion. This isn' to say that we should ignore the fact that we have emotions and opinions, no that would blind us just as only seeing life through our emotions and opinions would...

Anyhow, need to break away from that thought, it was only meant to lead into what I was going to tell you. At the end of the week I will be shaving my head as part of the cancer society fundraiser. There was point last week when I was going to my cut dreads off, due to the irritation they are causing to my scalp and then this fundraiser was brought to my attention. I have had debates in my head over it until yesterday, at first I wondered if I was going to cut my hair off anyway is it really a sacrifice (although if I had just cut them off I would've given myself a few inches to play and style with whereas now I am shaving it down to stubble). Then I was wondering if I should cut them off at all, because I haven't had them very long and they do look cool... but also I have been feeling restless these past few months, and was wondering if I was just looking for something different to do, changing again for the sake of change. So I stopped debating (it's hardly believable but yes I can stop debating with myself) and prayed about it, asking God for the answer. As I prayed, it became more apparant, or maybe I should say I have more reason to do it than I thought. To shave one's head in an act of empathy towards fellow man is noble and reason enough to go foward with this. But also it is an act of humility in other ways... it has been noted that I have very nice hair, and since I have dreaded many have admired it and told me it is a look that fits me and looks cool. I never idolized my hair, nor considered it my pride and joy, but it is a way that I get compliments, I do play with it in order to make myself look pretty... and where I can't exactly sacrifice my blue eyes or my fantastic dutch bootie, I can give up my hair.

mmm by the way if anyone would like to donate towards this cause, you can (talk to me if you're on campus) or email me at godsbutterfli@gmail.com.

OK so between life of a not so ordinary jo, and tell me no lies, there is a theme of loserness today... heh, I love this song by switchfoot, and am glad to call my self a loser. So anyhow, have a read, and go check out the new poem up on tell me no lies.


Artist: Switchfoot
Album: Learning To Breathe
Song: The Loser

Only the losers win
They've got nothing to prove
They'll leave the world with nothing to lose

You can laugh at the weirdos now
Wait till wrongs are right
They'll be the ones with nothing to hide

'Cause I've been thinking, thinking
I've got a plan to lose it all
I've got a contract pending on eternity
If I haven't already given it away
I've got a plan to lose it all

I've been the burnout kid
I've been the idiot
I'll turn the other cheek to be hit

You can take what you want from me
Empty me till I'm depleted
I'll be around if I'm ever needed

'Cause I've been thinking, thinking
I've got a plan to lose it all
I've got a contract pending on eternity
If I haven't already given it away
I've got a plan to lose it all

I wrote this song for you
To show how I'm selling out
I'll take the benefit of the doubt

Because I've been thinking, thinking
I've got a plan to lose it all
I've got a contract pending on eternity
If I haven't already given it away
I've got a plan to lose it all
I've got a plan to lose it all
I've got a plan to lose it all