Just an update...

Wow I cant believe that it is already the middle of August! I have been blessed with an awesome summer! Beth and I were able to housesit for a member of our church for the month of July. This was plenty of fun...however I think both of us were so thankful to be able to go back home after! The last two weekends I drove up to Charleston Lake by Kingston to camp with the family. We had so much fun introducing Daniel to what camping is...boy does he ever love being outdoors!
I also finished my second Coronary Care Course. It was a very difficult course but I hope to be able to use it in Newmarket in September when I start working in the Emergency Department there.
This summer Beth and I have been able to spend some quality sister time together which has been such a blessing for both of us! The picture of us above was taken at the African Lion Safari on July 1, 2008.
Last week I was able to spend two days with Opa and Oma. Oma and I had plenty of fun doing crossword puzzles etc. We went to Holland Christian Homes on one of the days which was difficult as I still really miss Tante Tena.
That is about all that is new this summer. The Lord has been working in my life with the idea of getting involved with New Tribes Missions next year to be involved with short term missions trip. I am still praying with this idea and seeing where the Lord wants me in my life. Right now the Lord has been showing me that my mission field is where He has placed me now...as well as the ability to continue to learn so that the Lord can prepare me for what He has in store for me!

Through Difficult Times...The Lord is Faithful!

The last month has been a difficult month but from the very start I will say that the Lord has been very faithful and continues to be faithful!
Last month I learned that the full time position at the hospital was over and I needed to take a part time line. This was fine however the only part time line on the floor I am working on is a night line. If I did not want that line I would have to move to a different floor. Now working straight nights don't really mix well with someone who has crohn's but the girls I work with encouraged me to take that line and then wait till another line became available. Needless to say that is easier said then done! But the Lord has been teaching me to WAIT on Him through this...
Then three weeks ago I ended up getting a chest cold that just would not go. They decided last week that I had pneumonia and I was put on antibiotics for it. But this meant that I have not worked for the last two weeks. Again the Lord said to WAIT on Him. Today I am feeling much better! Thank you Lord!
The Lord has shown me through this and many other things that He has a plan for us. He knows what we are going through and will never leave us. My problems are just minor problems compared to what many others face from day to day. But no matter how small or how big the difficulty is we must acknowledge the faithfulness of our Heavenly Father and just WAIT on Him to fulfill His perfect will in our lives.
Thank-you Lord for continuing to teach me, thank-you for your patience with me day after day! Thank-you Lord for your faithfulness in my life!

Do you ever want to question God?

Another one of my favorite songs...one that totally voices what I am feeling at this time in my life:

Lord You seem so far away
A million miles or more it feels today
And though I haven't lost my faith
I must confess right now
That it's hard for me to pray
But I don't know what to say
And I don't know where to start
But as You give the grace
With all that's in my heart

Chorus:
I will sing I will praise
Even in my darkest hour
Through the sorrow and the pain
I will sing I will praise
Lift my hands to honor You
Because Your Word is true
I will sing

Lord it's hard for me to see
All the thoughts and plans You have for me
But I will put my trust in You
Knowing that You died to set me free
But I don't know what to say
And I don't know where to start
But as You give grace
With all that's in my heart

Lord may I leave my life more and more in your hands and trust your will as best for my life! I love you Lord Jesus!

For my dear sister (in law)...I am praying for you!

Sometimes we don't know why the Lord does what He does or why He allows certain things to happen in our lives or the lives of those we love. Many time we, like Job, question God asking why...why us?
But one thing I know that through the love of Christ we will be able to carry on. Through the great gift and sacrifice of our Heavenly Father we are able to get through the hard times. Yes I know that this is all easy for me to say but I know we serve the same Lord Jesus and His love is the same everywhere.
Melissa this song is for you...I hope that it will help and encourage you as much as it has helped me. Hold on to the love of Christ because through it you and your Mom and your whole family will soar like the eagle for He will carry you through!

Lord I come to You
Let my heart be changed, renewed
Flowing from the grace
That I’ve found in You
Lord I’ve come to know
The weakenesses I see in me
Will be stripped away
By the power of Your love

~ chorus ~
Hold me close
Let Your love surround me
Bring me near
Draw me to Your side
And as I wait
I’ll rise up like the eagle
And I will soar with You
Your Spirit leads me on
In the power of Your love

Lord unveil my eyes
Let me see You face to face
The knowledge of Your love
As You live in me
Lord renew my mind
As Your will unfolds in my life
In living every day
By the power of Your love

(repeat chorus twice)

And I will soar with You
Your Spirit leads me on
In the power of Your love

I love you sister! Prayers are always with you!

I Love Nursing!

It was working the last two days that showed me more then ever how much I love to be a nurse. It was having two patients pass away in two days that made me thankful even more for chosing this profession. It was hard emotionally and physically but yet I felt drawn more to the job I am in.
We as nurses have so much potential to help people, to encourage people, to support people, and to just be there with them. We have the privelege of making our patients comfortable in their last hours and minutes of their lives. We have the honor of holding their hand so that they know they are not alone. We have the joy of helping someone get better when we all thought that they were dying...and the list continues.
It was extremly hard seeing death...it can be such a horrible thing...but it is through death that the Lord uses us in this profession.
I pray that in all I do that the Lord will use me to be a witness for Him, to pray for those I care for, to pray for family that watches all of this.
I know this blog is a bit disorganized but I had to write my thoughts as these last two days were so difficult...and yet like I said before these last two days proved to me that I am in the right place.
Lord help me to do my best for you!

Laundry Party

Have you ever had a laundry party? Well we have and boy is it a lot of fun...laundry, food, and a good movie...and life is just great! So here are just a couple of pictures of us having fun at the laundry party!


Even my cat enjoyed it!


Yes life can be so much fun...although don't ask me what the movie was about...I think we were laughing too much!

How Short Life is...

The Bible says that man's life is as a flower of the field...one day is there and the next day its not. Do you ever go to work wondering if you will be coming home that night? Do you leave home saying good bye to those you love wondering whether or not you will see them again? This is the reality of the world we live in.
I am working on a cardiac medicine floor in the hospital here. I have thought about the brevity of life so much as I see people who one day were strong and healthy and the next day are in hospital wondering how long it will be before their heart gives out...I have seen people who were having a wonderful time with family and friends and half an hour later are in hospital due to a vehicle collision. This is the reality of life.
God calls us to live each day for His glory and honor. To live each day spreading the Word because we never know if this day is our last day. For those of us who know the Lord Jesus this time can be exciting...but for those who don't know Him it can be scary. Lets share the Word and live each day to its fullest of working in the Kingdom of God because you don't know when the Lord will call you or your neighbor home! Life is short....

Of Tons of Homework...and Frustrating Computers!

Yes I have been trying to study for the course that I am taking on the human heart. It is such an interesting course as it describes how the heart is so intricately made. I often wonder how people continue to say that humans evolve when they read the miracle of creation!
The final exam for this course is next week so that means I have to study much harder then I was studying before. I find it hard to study when I am working full time but I have to give it my all in order to pass this course.
My computer has been really frustrating of late as it loves to freeze. I have a dell notebook and I am pretty sure that next computer I get it won't be a dell...but I should not complain and be thankful for the computer I have.
But for now it is back to the books...

Thank you Lord for Family!

I am really enjoying being back here in Orangeville Ontario, Canada. I started this week working at Headwaters Health Care Center on a Cardiac/Medicine floor. I am really enjoying working there. The staff are awesome there making a great team to work with.

Tonight I went to watch my younger brother's hockey game tonight and was thankful that I was able to do that for him.

I had an interview this week at the Avalon Care Center for a casual position as an RN there. This is a nursing home that I had volunteered there for five years starting when I was fourteen. It was exciting to see people that I had not seen for some time. I feel like I have come home!

Other then that I have been enjoying the time spent with family and friends back home thanking the Lord for a social life that I have never had in Ottawa! I am so happy to be back home in Orangeville!

Singing to the Lord...

You know how sometimes the Lord speaks to us in different ways. I find the Lord touches my heart through songs alot. I love driving by myself and singing with the worship CD's I play...just praising or praying to the Lord. And with this all I am thankful that we don't need to have a voice of a famous singer to praise the Lord...but that the Lord says to make a "joyful noise" to the Lord.
My song for this week is sung well by Darlene Zschech, called "Power of your Love". Here are the lyrics:

Lord I come to You
Let my heart be changed, renewed
Flowing from the grace
That I've found in You
And Lord I've come to know
The weaknesses I see in me
Will be stripped away
By the power of Your love

Hold me close
Let Your love surround me
Bring me near
Draw me to Your side
And as I wait
I'll rise up like an eagle
And I will soar with You
Your spirit leads me on
By the Power of Your love

Lord unveil my eyes
Let me see you face to face
The knowledge of Your love
As you live in me
And Lord renew my mind
As Your will unfolds in my life
In living every day
By the Power of Your love

This song has been my prayer many times especially when times get hard and stressful because it is the power of the Love of the Lord that keeps me alive and able to face a new day! May you all find the joy in knowing the true love of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ!

Prayer on my heart...

This has been the prayer of my heart on so many different occasions:

Show me Your ways
That I may walk with You
Show me Your ways
I put my hope in You
Chorus:
The cry of my heart
Is to love You more
To live with the
Touch of Your hand
Stronger each day
Show me Your ways

I thank the Lord for the patience He has with me day after day. I pray that the Lord will continue to shape and refine my life so that I may be more fit for the work He has for me to do here on this earth.

My Journey Back...and the Lords Never Ending Miracles!

I stood back again this week and thanked the Lord for the miracles that have happened in my life!

This week I drove back from Ottawa to Orangeville. I had asked a lot of people to pray for me as I drove back knowing that the drive from Ottawa to Toronto can be very difficult at the end of January. It stormed the day before I came home, and it stormed the day after I came home. However the trip home was the beautiful. It was sunny and clear the whole way down! Thank you Lord for answering the prayers of so many and bringing me back safe and sound!

I start work in Orangeville in about a week. I am really looking forward to it, as a new opportunity to serve my community! Thank you Lord for this opportunity!

This is all I have to say for now...a longer post will be coming shortly!

The time is soon approaching....

You know when I went to University for Nursing I never dreamed that I would be in Ottawa...or that after a year of working here I would be moving back to work in my own community hospital. I never dreamed that I would have the opportunity to be able to serve so many different people. Sometimes I sit back and am awed at how the Lord has worked in my life in a way I never had dreamed of.
Soon I will be returning to Orangeville, Ontario which is my home town. I will be working at Headwaters Health Care Center...giving back to my community! Working here in Ottawa has been an awesome experience for me in many ways. I have learned so much in working at the Ottawa Hospital...the staff on 7West at the General Campus have been just awesome! Thanks guys! As well I have had the pleasure of working for two months at Hunt Club Manor which has also been a wonderful opportunity.
Attending church at the Alta Vista Baptist Church as well as at the Met has been a good experience as well. Thank you to all of you who made me feel welcomed!
As much as being in Ottawa for almost a year has been the hardest year of my life away from family and friends...I want to thank my family and friends back home who prayed...and prayed hard that the Lord would help me through it! Your prayers have been answered. I have a wonderful community back home and I look forward to going back to give back what so many people have given to me!
I will keep you posted as to the details in a later post! Goodnight for now!

The Sovereingty of God!

I have been doing a small Bible Study with my younger sister and we have chosen to go through the book of Matthew together. It has been a real eye opener for me as we have studied the first two chapters. The second chapter in the book of Matthew talks about the evil the Herod did when Jesus was born. I read that chapter two or three times wondering how I was going to explain the jewels found in this chapter. Then tonight the thought hit me....the jewels in this chapter explain the sovereingty of God in such a beautiful way. While everything seemed chaos after the birth of Jesus with Herod killing all the baby's two years old and younger...there was a miracle happening. The Lord was showing us how He was still in full control. He knew EVERYTHING that was happening. The Lord provided a way for Mary and Joseph in escaping from the evil hands of Herod.
What an example for us today. Even though the world seems full of chaos and at times it seems that our lives are such a mess...the Lord, our Saviour, our King, and our Father is in full control. He is there helping us find a way to trust Him and move forward in His plan for our lives. The Lord is there guiding our every step as He guided Mary and Joseph to Egypt, as He guided Moses and the children of Israel, and as He guided Paul and Silas.
What a chapter full of the jewels of the sovereingty of God! Take time to read through chapters praying that the Lord will show you the Jewels of His Word! Thank you Lord!