Go therefore...

"Remember that there is a passion for souls that does not come from God, but from our desire to make converts to our point of view."
~Oswald Chambers

God please sift out my desire to be right and influential by making converts to my point of view.

Now hiring...

I'm in the market for a personal assistant - anybody looking for a part-time job?

Must Be:
-Willing to work for little-to-no pay
-Organized and punctual (and able to magically make me punctual)
-agree with everything i say (unless it's dumb and then they should tell me so i don't say it again)
-have experience in answering cell phones, emails, etc.
-able to give good directions. :)

if only...

The 5 Commandments of Dating

This is a summary of an article from a book that i haven't read, but i found it very direct and thought provoking - so i'm sharing! I'm curious - what do you guys think?

Despite what many of us have been taught, there is nothing inherently wrong with dating. But like any freedom—driving, voting, drinking—it can lead to disaster if you do it recklessly.
The purpose of dating is to find the "right one" with whom to spend the rest of your life. If you simply want to have fun, meet interesting people, or learn about yourself, don't do it within the context of dating, but in the context of friendship.

1. Thou shalt not group date.
When you hang out in a group, it isn't dating—it's socializing. Or mingling. Or entertaining. Whatever it is, it is not helpful. Nothing of any substance ever gets discussed in a group of co-ed friends when the intention of the get-together is to date. Emotional intimacy cannot be cultivated between two people if they are surrounded by ten of their best friends. While I'll agree that a group setting can be an excellent way to meet someone new, it is a terrible way to get to know someone's heart.
One of the biggest problems with group dating is that it allows men to be passive. One-on-one dating is the training ground that men desperately need to learn how to lead. Men learn perseverance by being rejected, strength by battling for a woman's heart, and initiative by asking a beauty on a date. Isn't it more intimate, you ask? Yes, but that's the point!

2. Thou shalt commit to the fight.
You are either dating or you are not dating. But the current Christian model is quite different. Our model looks like this: become friends, hang out, get to know one another, see where it goes, talk about possibly getting involved, discuss the north wind and how it may affect the relationship, talk to the youth pastor about it, pray about it, fast over it, court (which may mean dating), date (which may mean courting), and finally, date.
There is nothing overly spiritual or holy about camping somewhere between friendship and intimacy. In fact, when you attempt to know someone's heart without committing anything to them, you are doing them a terrible disservice.
Courting has the connotation that the relationship is definitely leading to marriage, putting undo stress on the couple. Women often think that if they are being courted, they are guaranteed a proposal. But that is not necessarily the case. While you can hope the relationship leads to marriage, courtship is no guarantee that the man will get down on his knee. Conversely, dating is about committing yourself to a developing, exclusive relationship to determine if your partner can be your soul mate.
If you are not sure whether or not you are dating, discuss it. If she or he hesitates or tries to stay in that awkward middle ground, jump from the moving train immediately.

3. Thou shalt expect nothing.
The number-one reason men don't want to commit to a relationship is because the only thing higher than a woman's heels on a first date is her expectations. If you think that the next guy has to be "the one," don't be surprised if he doesn't call you again.
When you first start seeing someone, give yourself three to four dates to decide whether or not you want to date him exclusively. Even if you think you know after the first date, give him time to realize how wonderful you are as well. Desperation is an ugly suit, and you certainly don't want to wear it on your first date, Cinderella. Both individuals should have three to four dates to decide if they want to commit to an exclusive relationship.

Ideally, the man should address the issue of dating, but if he hasn't initiated the conversation after the allotted four dates, feel free to bring it up, ladies. Ask an open-ended question along the lines of, "What kind of relationship do you see us developing?" or "Where do you see our friendship going?" Regardless of who brings it up, if the other person wavers and doesn't commit to getting to know you and only you, move on. You deserve better.

4. Thou shalt be patient.
Above all things, unconditional love is patient. When you experience a fresh and exciting new romance, you take a big swig of dumb-dumb juice. In all other instances, you would think rationally and logically, but when Cupid's arrow hits you in the backside, you begin to have outlandish visions of grandeur and romance.
No matter how much you love someone, there is no substitute for life's experiences. Walking through different seasons of life with your partner is an invaluable indicator of how he will handle the unpredictable moments of marriage. If you are planning on being married for the next seventy-five years of your life, a couple more months of dating certainly won't hurt you.
If we are really honest with ourselves, the reason that most of us are impatient is because we don't want the person we are dating to get away. We are simply afraid of being alone. But is that love or is that self-interest posing as love? When I get discouraged about my love life, I remember one thing—there are over six billion people in the world and I need only one. God is more than capable of finding me the perfect mate among that many choices.

5. Thou shalt always follow the King.
Instead of simply submitting to our feelings and emotions, it is more important to follow the passion and direction that the Lord instills in us. Why follow your heart when you can follow the Creator of your heart?
Many of us need that simple reminder because we all have a choice to make. We can either take love into our own hands and try to decipher between the millions of potential mates, or we can hand our hearts over to the Lord and trust that He who is Love will act in our best interest.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/singles/newsletter/mind61011.html

the link if you want to read the expanded version...

birthday fun

Thank you so much to all of "you" for a great birthday. It really was one of my more memorable ones. Overall, it was so nice to be surrounded by people who i enjoy - i felt very loved. So your well-wishes were not in vain...they really encouraged me! It was a very full birthday though - and it really lasted over a week! So i'm going to document it so i don't forget it...(the actual birthday was on friday Oct. 6, just so you know)
It started on wednesday when i hung out with Ethan and then with my 2nd year dgroup girls:

We laughed and talked about our perfect dates...good times! :)
Then thursday i had a great time at church and came home to my sister who visited! Then we went out "bowling" but it was closed. :( Small detail...yes. But we went and got milkshakes instead! it was good at the time (bad later on for those of us who are lactose intolerant!)
Here's me at midnight on my birthday in the milkshake place,

We hung out in the park and climbed a tank after some drunk Saugeen students sang me happy birthday and some Residence cheer ("chick chick BOOM!").
(oh and Julia helped me clean up my room...that was an ideal birthday present!!! thanks juls!)

Then during the day it was our staff team-building day (handy day for it!) and we went apple picking on a beautiful fall day. I ate apples and grapes until i couldn't eat anymore and enjoyed the sunshiney day!

Here's the team, and me and juls riding in the back of the car.
We made some apple crisp and watched a movie...good good times. And then the rest of my family came to london for dinner and we went to Maggie's for dinner! Maggie's is a jazz club/dinner place and although it's kind of expensive...it's amazing! The food is creative and delicious and the jazz makes you melt. mmmm....so good. And i dressed up a bit more too - last time i went i didn't know and felt very out of place!
(Can you tell we're related?!)
The rest of the evening i hung out with my brothers and sister and watched some YouTube and talked. So good! My brothers gave me a birthday card with a picture of The Rock on it. it goes like this:
"Can you hear the millions and millions...(next page)
wishing you a rock-solid birthday?"
And there's a picture of the rock dropping someone in the wrestling ring. On his back my brother drew a "tattoo" that says "Jen Clarke is rock-solid". haha...now i look at it in the morning and laugh. thanks boys. :)
The birthday continued through the week as belated presents and cards came or as i was able to finally get my mail for the first time. (i'll tell more about that some other time...)
Honorable gift mentions:
Hannah Lee, Julia Clarke, Ethan Park, 2nd year dgroup girls, Justine DePass, Casey Heintzman...(i admit it...i like gifts. :)

So yeah, there it is in case you wanted to know. I had a wonderful birthday and i'm really thankful for all the people in my life who help me along the way.