Reasons why Ireland will be awesome

No Malaria

No Parasites

RAIN

Cobblestone Streets

Flats instead of appartments

Everyone speaks english

Its in Europe!

History

DCM

Green 

No constant threat of snakes jumping out and trying to kill me

People with charming accents

Green hills

New adventures

New people to meet

ITS FREAKING DUBLIN!!!!

and so much more...

An Interview of sorts....

I  have been struggling on how to write this blog for weeks, every draft I thrown out because they are  boring or lame or both. I don't know what to say...

What I am doing in Dublin?
Working with at risk teens

How long?
six months

When do I leave?
 March 7

With who?
Dublin Christian Mission

Why?
I need to complete a 600 hour practicum to complete my degree, and frankly as much as I love my area of study I didn't love the options available to me in Calgary. However my school knowing that my long term focus is outside of Canada anyways was more than willing to work with me to find a placement that worked for me.

How did I find Dublin Christian Mission?
I made a great friend in school who actually works for them and suggested that it might me a good fit for me to come and finish my degree with them. The rest as they say is history.

How do I feel?
Excited, nervous, scared, challenged.

Am I fundraising?
Yes. If you want to help please contact me for more info

Do I have postcards again?
Hopefully, probably


Will I keep blogging?
Yes

What am I doing until I leave?
Writing my paper, working, writing my paper, seeing friends, writing my paper, spending as much time as humanly possible with my cat, writing my paper, stressing about not finishing my paper...

I hope that's all anyone wanted to know because that's all I could think of, if you have more questions please feel free to comment.

I hope your all having a fantastic weekend.... and I should stop procrastinating and go work on my paper some more...

Éire

Five years ago, I had these two friends who were living in Europe. we didn't know each other well (at least in my mind we didn't) before they left but they made a offhand invitation for me to spend a few weeks backpacking with them before they came home. I was terrified, I mean I hardly knew these girls, and what if they only said it to be nice. What would people say when they heard that the girl who wanted to be a missionary was backpacking Europe. I was wracked with more fear than I would ever describe to you, however I heard God clearly and He said go.

It was amazing, terrifying, crazy, fun, adventurous, everything that my 18 year old self needed. I needed to be challenged, to live outside of expectations, I needed adventure, I needed good friends, but most of all I needed to trust the Lord.

You see in the safety of my home and the love of my family I frequently forget how amazing and complete the Lords love is, because I don't need it as desperately as I do out in the world. At home life was easy, I could hide, I could give into my fears about the world, I could daydream about a better world. God knew though, He knew I needed to be kicked out of the nest in the most gentle way possible. So he sent me to Europe a place that I had been dreaming of pretty much my whole life, I secretly in the depths of my heart always wanted to go backpacking and he saw that.

Europe changed me, I was able to see God is interested in my happiness not just my well being. He also helped me to see what great friends he had sent me. I was also able to see that serving my Lord could take me some very interesting places that I may never see coming.

While I was backpacking I go to go to Greece, Italy and Ireland. Ireland was a blessing from the Lord, our excursion there was not planned but it was perfect. Most of my life I had dreamed of going there, I knew almost nothing about the country by my heart called to visit. The country did not disappoint, and when it came time for me to leave I couldn't bring myself to be sad because I knew I would be back.

All of this is intro for a big announcement of sorts, I am moving to Ireland for six months. In March.

I will be working with Dublin Christian Mission, and I am really excited. I will be sharing more in the coming days, but I thought I would just get the big announcement out there.




That's all for today.

Thunder crashes and rumbles in the skies

How I kind of wish it looked outside. 

I have been wanting to come on here for months, desperately trying to find a good post, the perfect post that describes why I haven't written in so long. Clearly I haven't been able to write that post, I haven't been able to find the right thing to come back with, but today I read this and had to share it.

Job answered:

"Well, you've certainly been a great help to a helpless man!
You came to the rescue just in the nick of time!
What wonderful advise you've given to a mixed-up man!

What a awesome looking storm
What amazing work my Father does

What amazing insights you've provided!
where in the world did you learn all this?
How did you become so inspired?

"All the buried dead are in torment,
and all who've been drowned in the deep, deep sea.
Hell is ripped open before God,
graveyards dug up and exposed.
He spreads the skies over uniformed space,
hangs the earth out in empty space.
He pours water into cumulus cloud-bags
and the bags don't burst.
He makes the moon wax and wane,
putting it through its phases.
He draws the horizon out over the ocean,
sets a boundary between light and darkness.
Thunder crashes and rumbles in the skies.
Listen! It's God raising his voice!
By his power he stills sea storms,
by his wisdom he tames sea monsters.
With one breath he clears the sky,
with one finger he crushes the sea serpent.
And this is only the beginning,
a mere whisper of his rule.
Whatever would we do if he really raised his voice!"

Job 26 (the message)

You know when a verse just talks to you?

Because today I am feeling optimistic
we are going to say these people are worshiping

Today this passage just spoke to me about who God is, it doesn't matter who I am, because he is unchanging and he is just so awesome.
I hate how it is cliche to say he is worthy of our praise but how true are those words.
He is loving and forgiving. He doesn't give us what we deserve but instead give us whats best for us, which is so often blessings heaped on blessings.
So today I am going to try my hardest to remember that he is so worthy of our praise and with that in mind, I hope to intentionally praise him all day.

Obligatory Thanksgivng post (If I were American...)

Alright so my life is boring and complicated which is why I haven't written in a while, but in the spirit of thanksgiving I have decided to post....wait for it...a thanksgiving post.
Things I am thankful for...
Coffee in my Africa mug
Warm cozy blankets in ugly (but strangely awesome) yellow
Homework

Some coffee and homework what a wonderful morning

Awesome opportunities

Jenna's wedding, so blessed to be apart of her and Jason's wedding day!

My Bibles
Promises fulfilled
Boots
Doctor Who
British actors and TV
Fro YO!!!
Friends

so much laughter!

Oh Greece so beautiful

Vacations
Vacations in the sun, away from snow
shorts
skirts dresses
generally anything that allows me to fun free without the layers
Bare feet
Showers
Hot showers
Africa
Kenya (yes I know am I am shocked too)
My Teams

Penguins!!

Kenya.

Gelato
The zoo
My job at the zoo
Scarves
Facebook
Unedited where it always feels like home
Good sermons that stay with you for years and change your life
Rocky Mountain college where the professors care
I am thankful for home
My spoiled and sometimes rotten dog
The pretty kitty snow
and my always cuddly kitty
Health (very important, after two bouts of flu, stomach flu, 3 mysterious African illnesses, I value my health like never before)



 Travel (the places I have been and will go)

Venice 

I am incredibly thankful for my life, every lesson I have learned and been taught. I am thankful for this year as hard it has been it has still been full of blessings and I have been taught a beautiful lesson that God is still good even when life is hard. There is still joy amidst pain, and there is always laughter to be found in any and all situations, it is actually really important to laugh as much as possible. 

Anyways I hope that you enjoyed my thanksgiving post. I have missed you all and hope to blog again.

Love always.

Unicorns and Rainbows

I think that there is a correlation between my coffee brewing/drinking habits and my blogging. Today for the first time in forever I made coffee and surprise I am blogging, who would have thought.


Why I haven't written?

To be honest with you, I took a break from my real life. It was just getting too complicated, I was tired of all the tears and heartache it was causing me so for a couple of weeks I decided to be someone different.

This different person was what in my head I thought of as normal, I woke up everyday to go to work, see friends or family, I volunteered, etc, I even went to church on Sundays. It was almost everything I wanted however it wasn't me, I lacked purpose with my life because I had said goodbye, I had to give up my morning quiet times because I couldn't handle listening to God every morning me asking me why I had given up? Why didn't I trust him? or him telling me to stop being foolish and surrender. I also had to avoid a lot of friends because well they know me too well and I didn't want to be found out, that I was running from who I was/am? I also had to avoid them because if I am honest in my heart it hurt to talk to them, I missed being the person they thought I was, I missed the joy I used to have in being that person.

So this normal life, wasn't actually at all what I wanted, but I am glad I branched out. I am glad that for a few weeks I took a break from my life because what I discovered that yes my life is not all about rainbows and unicorns right now but someday it will be. Someday things will not feel so hard or heavy, someday things will be really good again, but right now I know that I am right where God wants me to be. I know that my Abba loves me, that He has better plans for me than I can dream of, I also know as selfish as it may sound that I love waking up every morning with a purpose. This is because every morning I get to wake up and spend time with Abba just me and him, then I know that the rest of the day there is a plan for me, that the plan that God has set before my day and my life is good and is worth the hard times.

So that is why I haven't written, because I have been struggling, because I have been hiding, and because I have been disobedient. So this post is me trying to follow the Lord and get back on track, because although this blog is about me, I hope that people every once in a while will read it and God will use it to speak to them.

Thank you to all of those who have been praying me through this season, thank you also to those of you who have encouraged, loved, and badgered me into remembering who I am.

Love you!

Look its a chicken

Hey Everyone!

I am back!

Thank you for all of you who shared your "concern" over my absence (by concern I mean the threatening emails I got about posting a blog or else...Haleigh...)

So for my first blog in a while I thought I would share these...

This is a true reaction, like for reals. Gotta love Ashley

True Story Scott (Eating, pooping, sleeping...)

 These were made by the very talented Haleigh, she's great.

I hope these made you smile.

Love Ashley