Trust...Another Point

To believe someone no mater what.
To rely on them.
To place hope in them.
To follow them.
To believe their opinions.
To let them take care of you. 

     All of these are ways that we demonstrate and manifest our trust. Trust is a complex concept that seems so simple. Trusting someone means that we shouldn't have to worry, that our backs are covered and our burdens are relieved. It seems like everyone should have a person to trust, but it isn't always that simple. More often than not, trust is taken for granted and in the end, it is shattered, leaving us broken. 

The reality of trust has resulted in me torturing myself with two questions.
The first is "Who do I trust?" 
My answer, as I know it is for most of us, bases itself in others: family, friends, mentors. 
For some of us, we place our trust in our jobs or our schooling, our knowledge or our money. Sometimes we're so afraid of getting hurt by the world that we place our trust in ourselves to avoid its destruction.
Our trust can't be broken of we're the only ones that possess it, we think. 
This may seem true, but when we keep our trust to ourselves for long periods of time without letting anyone in, we end up believing that no one will ever deserve our trust, and as a result, our lives are lonely.
Why does it have to be so difficult? 

The second question I ponder is: Who should I trust? 
As Christians we all 'know' the answer. Some of us have heard it every Sunday from the time we were toddlers in the nursery. Some of us have heard it at camps, from our parents or even read it for ourselves in scriptures. Yes, God's word is pure and He is a shield to those who trust Him, but simply knowing this isn't enough...we need to believe it, and we need to act on it. 


Reading a recipe doesn't bake you chocolate chip cookies. You have to pull out the ingredients and follow the recipe in order to get the promised results. It's no different with God. 
We, as Christians, are professionals at knowing. We can read the Bible and quote scripture, we can go to church every Sunday and we can win countless quiz nights, but when it comes down to it, are we really acting on the recipe? Do we really advance the Kingdom of God? Do we really trust Him? We all know we should, just like we know we should mix dry ingredients and wet ones separately, but whether or not we put our knowledge into action is a different story. 

The Bible promises us that God will always look after us, and that we can place our trust in him no matter what, but reading that over and over again won't draw us closer to Him. We need to take action. We need to step off the edges of our cliffs in leaps of faith, and pursue relationship with God to see what incredible things he has in store for us. 
It's terrifying and difficult, but we need to fight through the struggle of trusting God because unlike worldly things, He will never fail us. He's got our backs. He will relieve us of our burdens and look after us for eternity if we ask him to. 
All we need to do is act on that recipe. 

Some trust in chariots and some trust in horses, but we put our trust in the name of the Lord.

~Psalm 20:7 

Heineken...a Pearl I'll Always Treasure

I have recently realized that in my almost two years of blogging I have never written an entry about my little lager...Heineken the gerbil. 
Three years ago I brought home my first fury little pet. A tan and cream, 2 month old gerbil not much bigger than my index finger. I had researched gerbils for years with the hope of someday getting one, but I never imagined that Heineken would be anywhere near as much fun as he has been. 

The epitome of cuteness and the most snuggly rodent I've ever known, he has always loved being held and stroked until he falls asleep close to my chest, as well as cuddling with a sock like a baby with a blanket while I watch tv. Because of how tame he has always been, people have often called me "The Gerbil Whisperer" but I think the majority of credit should go to Heineken and his unique characteristics. 

As cute and calm as he is, he's also a bundle of energy! When he was little, I trained him to jump out of large containers and run through mazes set up with books, although till this day he has never quite figured out how to run in a ball. His bravery when it comes to heights however, makes up for his lack of running. Since he was little, he has had the courage to jump from heights that should typically be unfathomable for such a small rodent. Recently he tackled six feet by jumping out of my friend's hands...still without getting hurt. I'd say he's quite the daredevil.  

Alongside being a package of fun, he is also the second pickiest gerbil in existence-other than his brother Remie. Changing his favourite seeds almost every week and only eating almonds with the tops already bitten off, I used to joke that he would only eat
 vegetables that were crinkle cut 3/4" thick. Who knew a gerbil could be so picky? 

Heineken is definitely the tamest, cuddliest, cutest, most amazing gerbil to ever live. From falling asleep in my lap, to challenging the cat, wrestling with his brother and playing hide and seek with me, he is truly an incredible animal. I'm proud to say that for the past three years he has been my companion, friend and snuggle buddy and I look forward to many more days with him and praise the Lord for him every day. 
Time with him is something I'll always treasure.

Summer Fun...Pearls

Where to begin? 
School has been out for officially two weeks and I'm absolutely loving it!!! 
My new goal is to try to blog at least once a day...emphasis on try. Fingers crossed I'll find something new to write about every day. 

For now however, I plan on summarizing what the beautiful summer has brought me so far!

The past few weeks have delivered me screams, tears, baskets of giggles and tasty treats! A Toronto Trip to Taylor Swift left me in awe, while a superb Sunday swimming at the city pool kept me smiling. A classy creation of clam chowder last night was my addition to our dinner, and that being one of my favourite soups, I was quite pleased with myself! Last Thursday gifted me clear contact lenses and I was ecstatic when I realized that up to that point, I had never been able to look into the mirror and see myself without glasses-I've had glasses my entire life. I was entirely blown away, and my little sister's joke about me being able to see myself for the first time in fifteen years almost made me sad. That took care of the tears I mentioned earlier. 

Afternoon visits with friends and family have made my heart melt with joy at the realization of how blessed I am, and the result and rave of my edible project last night put me in a good mood! For those of you that don't know, I seem to have a love affair with baking things. Usually I stick to simple cookies, but last night as a treat for some friends, I tried my skill at a batch of scratch, maple bacon cupcakes with chocolate icing. Although I have to admit I was too lazy to make scratch icing and left it to Betty Crocker to save the day, as well the fact that I accidentally let the cocoa and brown sugar marinated bacon in the oven escape my mind...needless to say it was a little too crispy. In the end though, the silky, maple sweetened batter made up for it all, and as it would turn out, my cupcakes were quite a hit with our friends today! 

So far, that's about it! I sit here at the kitchen table, marvelling at the sunset shining through the window, recollecting on what an amazing year I've had, and looking forward to every single thing that awaits me from here on in...

Life, Exams and Pillsbury Crescents...A Quick Summary

     It's been a while...
In all honesty, it feels like forever since I last blogged. I have been having an amazing month and new year so far and the more I think about it, things couldn't be going any better. 

     I plan to post more now that I'm starting to sort the new year out, but as of now I'm taking the few minutes I have to give you a quick sum up of my life's events. After Christmas I bought a Macbook Pro which is serving me very well in school and out. Over the weekend of January 12th, I attended The Pulse on Tour in Toronto with some old friends and was taught how to dance by some of the choreographers from So You Think You Can Dance. It was my second year going and honestly one of the best experiences ever! As of right now, Rihanna's "Diamonds" is playing on our speakers and making want to dance one of the routines. 

A rule that my brother taught me how to ignore...

     On the topic of dance, we also recently switched danced schools to a much closer studio so that we are no longer dancing in Oakville. Although it's different, I can say that it's a good, healthy change and it it would also be good to point out that I'm in love with Lyrical! ;) 

     Today, a friend and I performed an original song in Music class to complete the second of my four exams. It went really well and already I can feel a load of stress lifted off of my chest. Tomorrow the calendar is labelled with "Science Exam" and then Wednesday with "English Exam" as well as Braces! As of January 30th I'll have upper and lower braces...While this seems like a damper, it's a good sign because it means I'm halfway through the torture of Metal Mouth! 

     Right now, a quick school break has resulted in baking some Pillsbury Crescents for a snack...then it's straight to Science studying! Nothing like snacks, music, dancing and studying on a foggy Monday afternoon!

Let the Countdown Begin...with a sprinkle of thankfulness

Our bedroom that now looks like a
gingerbread house. 

     With less than a month left until Christmas, I have to admit I'm pretty excited...but it might not be for reasons you's expect. I look forward more to writing Christmas cards and buying things for other people, than I do to getting lovely little presents on Christmas day...I'm not sure why. It might sound strange to you that whenever Christmas comes around, the first thing that goes through my head is "What can I get for (Insert name here)?" But other than that, I love skating, (which we did the other day) and baking and dancing...and decorating is always fun too!

Lights

     If it wasn't for my incredible older sister, I don't think we would have decorated at all this year, so my extreme thanks go out to her since our house-both inside and out-looks absolutely beautiful. lit snow-covered candles accenting the ebony of the piano, garland twisted around the banister with lights, and red and silver runners on tables here and there. I congratulate myself because I have the privilege of being able to say that I helped out in this enchanting setup. 

     Another thing I'm very proud of myself for is the fact that I actually got around to Christmas cards this year! I bought my own, pretty cards that are sprinkled with sparkles and carefully wrote messages in each of them, which is a huge improvement from last year...when, I confess, I never got around to completing them. Now, all I have left to do is address those of the envelopes that I'm sending and then I can check cards off my mental to-do list! J

       One thing I have yet to check off however, is snow that lands. We've been lucky enough to have some of it sprinkle on us like icing sugar on a cake, and if my story book hopes and dreams come true, we'll have the first bit of it on the ground by 2:45 pm on December 21st so that I can finish fourth period, say goodbye to friends and teachers for Christmas break and then wait to get picked up while snowflakes find themselves in my hair and eyelashes. Fingers crossed, prayers said, that would make my last day ten times better than I'm already anticipating. 

     Finally, I add a touch of thankfulness to this post. 

After another amazing day at school I am exploding with happiful feelings and warm thankfulness for everything! Amazing people that care and make me smile and laugh all day long, for teachers that help me learn along the way. For a family that picks me up after school, for a little spare time to write before I enslave myself to studying for a chemistry test, for dinner downstairs that smells amazing, and for Christmas music playing in the background off of a koala shaped speaker to give me inspiration.

Puddicombe Farms...A Pearl

  Much to my delight, autumn has been exceeding my expectations. Today we took a pleasant little trip to Puddicombe Farms, a cute area just a few minutes from here. It's actually quite surprising how much they have there, not only is it a Pick Your Own orchard-where you can currently harvest pumpkins and apples-but it also has several different kinds of animals, all of which have been rescued. From pigmy goats to peacocks and a cow that has a liking for snuggles, we had a lot of fun meandering around. They also have a little train with quite the history that takes you on a tour of the farm all the way to the back of the escarpment. It's actually fun, although we didn't go this time around. 


     Today I broke down and bought some fudge for the family, I'm looking forward to indulging in the chocolate caramel sensation later. Apple picking was really a lot of fun too, but then...who doesn't like picking their own fruit? The best part about it by far is snacking on the job-empires are delicious this time of year-and biting into a juicy, crunchy, delight. Whenever we pick our own fruit, for some bizarre reason, I always eat more of it. Maybe it simply tastes better knowing how much fun went into the experience of it all. 

     I'm an animal lover, so of course, the petting zoo was my favourite part of the day, especially since they had two ponies. You can assume I was ecstatic when the little one just kept sticking its head through the fence to let me stroke his muzzle and give him a scratch between the ears. The cow, believe it or not, was begging for attention! He pushed his head right up against the fence and held it there while we massaged his forehead and every time we stopped, he nudged the fence for us to continue. I have never seen a cow do that before. It was completely, entirely entertaining and adorable!

     Emmah and I also got to pick a pumpkin, it feels like forever ago since we did last! There were quite a few to choose from and you should have seen the way my face illuminated at the sight of a perfectly round pumpkin sitting in a ray of sunlight. I insisted it was the perfect one because of the cuteness factor...if it's possible to find that in a pumpkin-which I believe it is. But after a few minutes, we agreed on a another one instead. It was smaller than some, perfectly round, and Emmah was able to carry it with not more than a little struggle which means it was just the right weight. After plopping it onto the scale and paying the 'man' we climbed into the car with our harvested crops and fudge and began the five minute journey home. 

   

  All but one family member home, cool, crisp, weather, no homework, leaves starting to change and one amazing day after another...yes I think the autumn odds are in my favour. 

Christmas Eve...A Definite Pearl

Christmas Eve itself is a momentous occasion. Children all over the world anticipate the arrival of morning's first light, whether it be to glow at the mound of surprises under the tree or to beam at the handful of chocolates in their stocking. Every single Christmas brings unforgettable memories that will last us the rest of our lives. Although every one of my Christmases has been extremely memorable, this one will stick out in my mind for eternity. On this cold Christmas Eve, my younger sister and I were finally baptized!...in the warmth of a hot tub! I'll never forget the flush of excitement leading up to this occasion, or the smile on my face as my Mom read my handwritten testimony aloud and together my parents dunked me under. I don't think I will ever lose the shocked expression that was on my face as I got out of the tub into the freezing December air. It was a day to remember! We had been waiting for quite some time to do this, but I can honestly say that I'm overjoyed we waited until Christmas Eve, which  made it somewhat magical. I will remember every Christmas, but this one especially....is a definite pearl.