My Roomies (aka My Family)

Well, this isn’t a typical post for me, but my gorgeous roomies want me to post about them, so I will. Because I love them. Every day I get to wake up to the most awesome six girls I have ever had the chance of living with, and every evening I get to come home to our little family of seven (or should I say eight. We adopted one. :) ) They make my life bright. From our dance parties to our Christmas music debacle, from the newly thrifted Christmas tree on our table to Samm’s funny comments when she’s half asleep, from the advice and comfort they give to our prayers together, they truly are the best. I don’t know how I got so lucky to be with these amazing ladies, but God was certainly good to me. I cannot imagine having any other roommates. It is going to be very hard when Christmas break rolls around and we all have to pack up our stuff knowing that when we all return we won’t be with each other any more. I hate that. I want to stay roommates with them forever. Sure our room is super messy and maybe we should get in bed before midnight each night, but we love each other and that’s all I care about. It makes me sad that all you reading this don’t know them, so I’m going to tell you a bit about each one.

Emilie is from Canada. I’d tell you which province, but let’s be honest, they’re all the same in my mind. She is super fun to be around and is always bursting with energy. We both enjoy our dance parties very much and play on the same floor hockey team here. Canada is Almost America (yes, that is our team name) will be entering the playoffs after an amazing victory tonight. We won 4-2 and Em scored twice. That’s my girl!!! She loves to joke around and laugh her adorable laugh that makes me smile. She is absolutely beautiful inside and out.

Sam is also from Canada. She is such a sweetheart. You can just tell that as soon as you start talking she is listening and really cares to hear what you have to say. She loves to have fun and her dance moves are really good. She reminds me of my little sister in that regard. She has such a kind heart and her caring attitude just melts your heart. She sincerely embodies tender-heartedness and I love that so much.

Clare is also from Canada (sensing a theme?). This sounds funny but she is my adorable, little dinosaur. She is just a cutie through and through, from her clothes to the things she says. I really appreciate her willingness to share, and her tolerance for our loudness when she is going to sleep. She has such a gentle heart, and her outlook on life is very happy and excited. Her love for life is refreshing.

Marissa is from the USA. She lives in a town called Linden on the west coast. She has a mother’s heart through and through. She is tender and caring, but is firm when necessary (like at 12:30 in the morning when we still haven’t turned off the lights). She is very comforting and is always there to listen and give advice when asked. Her faith in the Lord is incredible and very apparent by her life and way of living it. 

Maggie is also from the USA, but was born in Egypt. She is crazy at times, but I love her. She is always thinking of us, and when she gets things, she gets them for the room, and not just for herself. She purchased our Christmas tree, and is always doing funny things. She makes me laugh, but she also is so sweet. She comes up to me nearly every day just to give me a hug and tell me she loves me. I am blessed by her. 

Karen is from Canada too. She is the quietest in our room, but her sincerity is loud and clear even when she is silent. She is slow to speak, but quick to love. She is so passionate about many things in her life like drama and music, and it is so refreshing to behold. She has a beautiful smile and this sweet, soft laugh. I am so grateful for her presence in our room.

And Samm is our adopted roommate. She is Sam’s best friend (I know, lots of Sams). She is from Canada as well. She is so strong at heart but at the same time so incredibly caring. It is a truly beautiful combination. I don’t understand how she manages both sometimes, but she does. Every night she says goodnight to us all individually, and her love is apparent. She is there to rub my back and soothe me when I’m down. It is so amazing to be able to have her in our room even if she doesn’t usually sleep there. She is a wonderful addition to our room, and I am so happy we get to love her on a daily basis.

Those are my roommates in a nutshell. We are crazy. We are loud. We are messy. We are silly. But we are sisters, and I thank God for them each and every day. I love you ladies!

Random Acts of Kindness

I have a challenge for you, my lovely readers. My challenge to you is to do something nice for someone this week. Do it in secret if you’re nervous or just do it outright, but somehow go out of your way to be kind to someone. Now if that seems easy up the numbers. Do kind acts to five people. Maybe try to do one act of kindness every day this week. Crazy, I know. But I’ll tell you, it makes a difference to people.

I feel as though many times we, as Christians or even simply as human beings, have a tendency to sit back on our haunches and watch others pass us by. Of course we have our friends that we love and will do nice things for sometimes, but even at a Bible School there are plenty of people that cross my path each day that just look a little down. My question is, why don’t we ever do something about that? Why not try to be a bright point in a person’s day? I was given a note the other day from a friend. He wrote it for no reason other than to just encourage me. I wasn’t down. I wasn’t crying or angry or frustrated. He did it just ‘cause. The note said that he really cherished our friendship and that he was so glad he got to know me. He said we should hang out soon since we hadn’t in awhile, and you know what? It was really nice. A few days later, a friend complimented me on my kind heart. I had not really realised that I was being that kind, but obviously it is noticeable to others. That’s a really cool thing to learn that one of your qualities really sticks out to others. Last night a different friend said to me, “Hey Sarah. I just wanted to let you know that I’m really impressed by your servant’s heart.” What precious words... I really have been trying to embrace the idea that I should refresh someone each day with a kind word or deed, and therefore be refreshed myself by their reaction. Through this new goal of mine, I have come to know that I truly delight in making others happy. I knew this before, but in the past few days this fact has become so real. I am so blessed by the people here, and I only find it fair to bless those around me in return. 

Now I know my realizations about my life do not apply to you all, but it does not change the fact that you can be refreshed by refreshing others. I challenge you all to refresh yourselves this week. Maybe give a friend a bar of chocolate, or write an encouraging note, draw someone a funny picture, or just give a hug. Let others’ smiles delight your soul. 

Wow!

Hello my lovelies!

Well I'm missing my art a lot right now. I really want to post another DIY for all you independent people out there, but I have no supplies! Gah! I'm working on it, though. I will do my best to find a few and just stock up on supplies next time I'm in town.

But on a more interesting note than my shopping plans, I went to Scotland two weeks ago. We left from Capernwray on Friday (the 1st) in the morning and arrived in Edinburgh, Scotland at around 3 in the afternoon. We spent the rest of that day just walking around and exploring. We walked down the Royal mile and found a pub to eat at for dinner, and just hung out. I was pretty wiped so we ended up heading back to the hostel at a pretty reasonable hour and I watched How to Train Your Dragon and then went to bed. Great movie.
The next day, we just sort of explored. We didn't have anything specific planned so we walked around and ended up going in and seeing a church. Then we grabbed some lunch at a little cafe called Hula. I had some delicious soup and a bagel toastie. It was the perfect lunch to warm me up on that rainy day. After lunch we saw Edinburgh Castle. It was pretty fun. Laura, Marissa, Christian, Sierra, and I weren't really in the museum mood, though, so we ended up reading maybe six signs and laughing our way through the rest of the castle. A little heads up: it's not a traditional castle. It's more of a conglomeration of buildings that served various purposes in their day. We ended up watching the sunset from the castle and then heading out to buy groceries so we could make dinner. It was a nice day, and I snuggled in and watched Pirates of the Caribbean that evening.
Sunday morning, there was a large group of students from school going to a local church. So we all attended and it was a really nice service. It was good to be in the natural swing of church again because church at Capernwray doesn't have the same feel of getting up and actually driving to the church that you spend one or so days at every day. It gives church a different feel when you are not there all the time. The rest of that day, I spent walking to and hiking up Arthur's Seat. It is a big bluff that overlooks the city and it was really pretty. I enjoyed it a lot.
Monday, was the day to go home. I was sad to be leaving my mini vacation, but I missed home. I missed my Capernwray family. I missed coming home to my roommate family in the evenings. So, even though I enjoyed my time, I really realised how much I love the place where I'm at right now. I love my surroundings and the people and my life. God is so prevalent in everything here and I am just happy. God is good, all the time. All the time, God is good.