FIVE...

So, I've been tagged by Deb. My instructions are to write five things about me that no one knows, then tag five other bloggers to do the same. Here I go (hopefully new things will be learned)

1) My middle name. So many will know that my middle name is Lindsay, but most will not know how I got it. I was named after a man named Lindsay Smith. He was a grandfather figure to my Mom. I'm told I've met him, and photos would also support this, though unfortunately I don't remember him. I do have though a beautiful jewelry box that he carved by had for me.

2) I love airports. There are a few reasons for this. One, I love to travel and the excitement that goes along with that. Two, when I travel alone I feel very independent, the sky literally becomes the limit to what I feel I can do. Three, I like people watching. (It's not that creepy, secretly you know you love it too!)

3) One day I could be queen. Okay, so many of you may know that I am in line for the throne of England. I originally thought I was behind most of Europe. NOT SO!!! I'm somewhere like
25 000 down the line. That's like only the population of Truro or the combined total of DAL and SMU together. This is totally do-able! Hiring one hit man...

4) I've left my mark on the education system in Nova Scotia. If you're ever bored and chose to read the rules and regulations for science fair projects in the provincial competition, you will notice a line that reads something like this, "No animals or livestock may be used in experiments". I won't fill you in on the details now, but it's all because of me baby. You can take a girl out of the boonies, but you can't take the boonies out of the girl...

5) The woman I aspire to be the most like in the Bible is Ruth.


Okay...so I tag:
Tricia Jagt cause she's just started blogging
Lindsey Davies cause we've got a name in common (though we spell it differently)
But mostly I tag these two cause out of the blogs I read I know these two the least. That will change though, they're on my STINT team!
Kelley Myles cause after that angry blog I've learned it had to do with not being tagged. Next time I make the top five, I don't want to be on that list! Plus, I love her and don't get to see her as much anymore.
Gilberto De Melo because he volunteers for the IWK, and that place saved my little brothers life on the weekend.
And finally, Matt Rice cause well according to Matt Clarke, "he's Chuck Norris!" and that just cracks me up. I'm laughing with you Matt, not at you!

Battle Cry

The first step to winning a battle is actually acknowledging that you are in one. Today I have come to that realization. Now don't get me wrong, I have known that there is a spiritual battle going on for quite sometime now, but I have finally seen how I have fit into the picture today.

I had a quiet time today. Now don't get me wrong, I have them most days. But today was real. And I am realising how stale all my quiet times have been for almost a year. Yes, a year. God and I chatted, really dialogued today. And it was wonderful, refreshing. He definitely showed me how for the last year there has only been one set of footprints in the sand, and they haven't been mine. And, the exact weekend stuff started to go off the rails in my life and He picked me up and carried me.

It was a crazy weekend, my Grandma was rushed to the hospital for emergency heart surgery (her pace-maker started poking through her skin). That Friday, I decided once and for all that I had to give up my dream of dancing for a career, something that I'd dreamed about for a long time (good-bye National Ballet School). There were the performances of a ballet that I was originally cast in (my lead role was given away because of my injury and inability to dance). And to cap it all off, stuff with my roommates started to go really down hill (this due in part to me a slight identity crisis not really knowing who I was outside of dance and part due to my roommates and I realising that all we had in common was dance and now not even that.) Life as I knew it was not going well at all, and without even realising it, I lost complete control.

So here are a couple of realisations I've come too...

1) I've been relying on God's strength more than I even realised.

2) God showed me some places in the last year where He could have let me go, but held on tight. I am loved by Him more than I will ever be able to understand.

3) That it's time for us to walk hand in hand with two sets of footprints, He's not going to leave me, ever, but I am ready now to walk on my own.

4) Putting on the "armour of God" has to be a literal thing. (This wasn't a suggestion put into the Bible just for kicks, we really need it. Daily.)

So I'm able to see how God has carried me through the battle for the last year. But now, I need to take some ownership and fight. So, some changes are going to be made in my life. Nothing to drastic, but now that I can see how close the enemy has come in the last year, I know what I need to do.

Kindness

I want to introduce you to someone. His name is Justin Halleran. He's a 5th year student at Memorial University in Newfoundland. He plays varsity basketball and is the starting shooting guard for his school. I'm told he is also one of the top players in the league. I've never met Justin, but his kindness has impacted me greatly. The following is a recap of something that has transpired over the last few days. It was written by my mother, but I agree with everything she is saying.

This is the story of two young men, both of them dedicated athletes, who met this afternoon in the locker room of the Dalplex in Halifax, NS. One is a swimmer who had just finished competing in the pool, the other a basketball player getting ready for his game. I do not know all that transpired between the two when they met, but what I do know, I will share.

When the swimmer returned to the locker room after his events, it was to find that one of his shoes was missing. He searched carefully but to no avail. No one wants to lose a shoe. No one wants to go outside barefoot in Feb., especially in the midst of a cold spell such as we are presently experiencing.

The swimmer's father went looking for his son. It is unusual for him to be so slow leaving the locker room. He found the swimmer sitting on a bench holding a large size 11 basketball shoe. The second size 11 shoe was on one foot, while his own remaining size 6 shoe was on the other foot. When asked, he explained to his Dad that the size 11's had been given to him by a basketball player who was getting ready for a game at 3pm.

The father went looking to try and return the shoes. He asked the Dalhousie players and no one knew about the shoes. Throughout the field house there were masses of young men playing basketball. Who to ask? The son insisted the player who had given him the footwear was going to be in a big game at 3pm, so the father returned to the court, this time walking towards the Memorial team players. One player raised his hand ever so slightly in a small wave. The father asked if the shoes were his, and he acknowledged that they were. Would he take them back? Justin Halleran would not consider that. "Everyone should have a pair of shoes to wear out of the gym."

It is not easy for an athlete in the midst of game preparation to take their focus from their own game. That Justin Halleran took that time to talk with a young man who happens to have Down Syndrome, and without a second thought give something of his own up to help another out of a tricky situation, showed he is a worthy ambassador of both Memorial University, and his home province, Newfoundland.

I do not know how he did on the basketball court today, but I hope he did well! I do know that in that larger, more important game - the one we call LIFE - Justin Halleran certainly proved himself a true team player.

So Justin, thank-you. For your kindness to one great kid who many overlooked that afternoon. It has not gone unnoticed.

Crying at Movies...


So I cry at almost anything, especially movies. Last weekend I cried at a movie. Now I have no shame in this, but the situation is rather funny since I was the only gal at the movie and went with 4 of my best guy friends. Though they didn't even know until I told them...LOL.

Tomorrow night, I will once again cry at a movie. Greg and I are going to watch the Notebook. (Relationships are all about compromise so we are both watching a movie we wouldn't normally and are trading one chick flick for one shoot-em-up-testosterone-fest and I picked the biggest, most chickest of all chick flicks I could think of!) He has no idea what he is in for! This movie makes me cry every time I see it, and it has been a while, so I will probably flow like Niagara Falls. LOL. I hope he has tissues on Hand. (*sigh...I get all girly just thinking about the movie.) If he is smart, he will take notes, though cheesy there are some very romantic ideas in this movie. (Like a letter everyday for a year, how sweet is that? HintHint)

Now here is where the story gets unfortunate, every gal knows that waterproof mascara is genius, perfect for times like the above, I at this time have none and won't have time to pick some up. So tomorrow I will be left with one of two options, one wear no mascara at all or two, wear mascara that is bound to run. What's a girl to do? (LOL)

On a complete other spectrum, tomorrow before our movie date, I will be babysitting so won't be able to pick up the movie. Greg is going to have to go by himself to do it. Now he isn't normally one to feel awkward about stuff like this, and I'm sure he hasn't even thought about the situation enough to consider that it might be awkward. Though if my favourite blog stalker reads this between now and then, he may feel just a little self conscious about the whole situation. It's fair though, I'm watching Sniper...

*To make up for the fact this post is somewhat shallow, I will do my best to drum up something a little more profound for my next post