WARNING: LOTS AND LOTS OF FUN SISTER PICTURES!

Here are the pictures from my birthday celebration with my fabulous sister back on October 20 as I promised! Better late than never!

We started with lunch at Steph's! Mmmmm....

Then off we went to the next surprise! Pedicures! Oh so fun! The chairs gave you a massage, the ladies were sweet and the toes were so pretty by the end!







I love pedicures!

Then off we went to grab a Starbuck's in our flip flops so our toes wouldn't smudge! We had a funny conversation with the girls at our local Starbuck's, laughed and headed to St.Vital Park! To fly a kite...even without much wind =)










Back to Steph's to change and then off we went for supper! We had a lovely dinner at Olive Garden, complete with lots of cheese, more laughter and great bonding conversation. I tend to feel like I've bonded with someone I love when we've shared emotions, dreams, struggles, etc. If it's just surfacey, then it doesn't feel like we've connected to me! Steph and I had a lovely time connecting as sisters!




We picked up a movie and our favorite 7-11 candies for the evening and headed to my place!





Thanks for being the best sister Steph and always making my birthday so special!

Life in the Farrow Household...

Life seems to be flying by at a rapid speed these days! We've been home for just over a week and it sort of feels like our trip to KC was months ago already. We jumped right on board with the fast moving train of life as soon as we got home!

I've worked 3 days, celebrated Thanksgiving with my mom and sibs, had family pictures taken (thanks Steph!), had coffee with a friend I hadn't seen in 2 years, had a sister birthday celebration (pictures will be coming soon), cooked, cleaned, grocery shopped, done countless errands, spent some time with Shane, and gone to a few appointments. Yikes!

Another praise report is that I'm still allergy free after today's tests! Woo! Hoo! I had to get the big patch on my arm read and it was all negative!

I'm on my way to nap to prepare for my weekend of nights that starts tonight. I'm pretty much out of commission until Sunday. I had an extra work day yesterday to do some classroom orientation for the gyne ward that I will soon be floating to. The day was good and I enjoyed learning, though the topics of miscarriages and cancer are a little heavier. But they motivate me to pray!

To add some random information, in the last 2 days I finally finished two books I've been reading over a few months! I am done Marketplace Christianity and The 7 Longing of the Human Heart! Very good reads! Shane and I bought a few more books to add to our library on our trip and I was very motivated to finish the other ones I was reading to get on to the new ones! It can take me a long time to get through a book these days!

Well, I really should wind down and try to sleep for the next 3 hours if possible. I've been running around doing appointments and errands for the last few hours and won't get to sleep until tomorrow morning at 8:30 or 9 so now's my chance!

This season of my life seems to have a full schedule and require communing with the Lord throughout all I do. It is such a good lesson that I need to learn for the benefit of the rest of my life!

An allergy update...

So far I have no allergies at all! Woo! Hoo!

As soon as I told the allergist my story, she asked, "Are you dermographic?". Apparently I am according to both the dermatologist and the allergist. It's the skin writing, itching thing that I blogged about a while back. It's why I'm itchy all the time, but there is no reason for it! That part is annoying =)

That question makes me sound like an alien or something! Are you dermographic?

So, I've been off antihistamines since last Monday. I've been increasingly itchy since Wednesday evening of last week. Sitting still for 30 minutes with many pokes to my arms that I can't scratch and I can't scratch all the other itchy places was tough! I was happy though that I didn't react to anything! Not to dust, mold, cats, dogs, food or spices! I had a lot of pokes and I got a clean bill! That is a definite praise report!



The saga isn't quite over as they are patch testing a few more things. That's the funny looking patch on my arm. I have to keep it on until Thursday and head back to the allergist to get it read. Oh well! So far, so good!



Praise God for health!

An update on the itching =)

So, remember how I said a while ago that I've been itchy since June? It hasn't been so bad because I've been medicated daily since July or so! It just gets really annoying when I go off the meds.

Tomorrow I see an allergist for the first time. I don't think I have allergies and I don't want to find out I have any tomorrow. The dermatologist just wanted me to be seen by an allergist because one of my itchy spots are my lips. They get itchy and swell just a tad bit. She didn't like the sound of that!

Needless to say, in preparation for the allergist, I've been super itchy these past few days. It drives me a little crazy!

So, I'm going to get all poked up tomorrow.

But, the best part about tomorrow is......belated birthday celebration time! My dear sister is taking me out for the day and it's all a surprise! I'm excited! I get to spend the day with my sister and feel special! Woo hoo!

Back to Work...

Well, holidays are over and I'm back to work this morning. I sure love time off and holiday mode!

So, I'm working 12 hours days today and tomorrow so I'm out of commission the next 2 days!

Kansas City Trip - Day 10 (belated)

Yesterday we drove home. We left Mary Jean and Tony's at 7:23am after a quick bite to eat, loading the van and chatting with Tony. It rained for the first few hours and then the weather was gorgeous for the rest of the trip!

There was lots of grace for driving the many hours it takes to get home. The Lord protected us and kept us safe and secure the whole way home. Thank-you Jesus!

We "landed" on our parking spot at 9:07pm and are now back home in Winnipeg. We unpacked pretty quickly and then got to see my dear sibs, who came over for a bit! They are awesome and we're tight =)

God is good. Our trip was really nice. We're called to Canada. So, we're here and today, it's time to vote! God have mercy on our nation and appoint the right prime minister for this next season in Canada!

We're leaving...

We're leaving in the next little while and I'm a little sad. I wanted a few more days out here =) The weather and time away has been so great that I don't really want to go back to cold and busy life.

But, I definitely feel called to Canada. The more times I come down here and visit, the stronger my love for Canada grows and the commitment to pray for my nation strengthens. That's a good thing!

So, pray for our safe travels throughout our day! We'll be home later tonight!

Kansas City Trip - Day 9

Today is my 26th birthday! It has been such a nice day! I'm pleased to have turned another year older!

I woke up this morning, showered and got to open some cards to start off the birthday! Thanks Steph, Shane, Mary Jean and Tony!




Then we headed to church at Forerunner Christian Fellowship. It was awesome! The message was great and I had good revelation and a touch from the Lord! That's the best birthday gift ever!

For lunch, Shane took me to The Cheesecake Factory at the Plaza! We had gone there on Tuesday for date night and I enjoyed it so much that I wanted to go back! We then walked around the plaza and enjoyed the warm weather! We were sweating by the time we headed back to the van because the temperature was 28 today!



When we got home, there was a gift on our bed from our lovely hosts for Shane and I to open! Mary Jean is the best wrapper I know!



Then it was time for the group celebration! Christina, Janelle, Mary Jean, Tony, Shane and I went to Cinzetti's for the Italian Buffet! Mmmmmmm!!! So good!


Shane and I with our great friends Mary Jean and Tony!


The Winnipeg girls!


My lovely Christina and myself!


Shane and I being goofs!





Happy Birthday to me!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! LET THE CELEBRATION BEGIN!

Kansas City Trip - Day 8

Today is my last day being 25! Good-bye to the younger twenties and hello to the older twenties! I'm not concerned with getting older each year. It means another year that the Lord has blessed me with life!

This morning we slept in and it was marvelous! These late nights are making me tired! And we haven't been letting ourselves sleep way in, just not getting up super early.

Shane spent some time in Higher Grounds while I went to a tea party celebrating Shiloh's one month birthday =) I got to see some of the ladies we met last year at onething Winnipeg (Ana, Kristen and Shari). That was nice!

Then Shane and I had our first Walmart trip. We picked up some food, sweet tea and other miscellaneous stuff. We had lunch together at Chipotle, as Shane wanted to eat there once more before our trip ended. The weather was so gorgeous that we ate outside in the warmth on the patio! We talked about our trip, our thoughts and simply connected. It was lovely!

We popped in at Mary Jean and Tony's to drop our stuff off and touch base. Then off to the prayer room for 2 hours. I finished off Revelation today! Matt's team was singing through Psalm 139 from 2-4 and we caught the last hour. It was really good, especially the end part of the set. Good truths that we always need more revelation on about God's thoughts toward us!

We headed over to the Coopers to squish Shiloh once more and say good-bye =( She's precious.

Shane spent the evening with Mary Jean and Tony's at their place and I went to the Encounter God Service. Mike spoke about Revelation 4 and 5 which was good. My favorite part of the evening was the short time I had in my seat before the service began and during the worship before the preaching. I was getting some good revelation and felt the Lord speaking to me.

Now, we are at Mary Jean and Tony's and the guys are playing the Wii as I type. I played some tennis but lost both times. Oh well!

It's almost my birthday! Tomorrow will be here soon!

Kansas City Trip - Day 7 (belated)

Yesterday was day 7, Friday, October 10. We've had such a nice time out here and I'm not ready to head home yet, which is good because we get to stay a few more days! I'm loving the weather so much! Capris and flip flops are wonderful! And today's high is 27!

Yesterday morning we had coffee with Justin Rizzo and that was fun! There was such a connection between Winnipeg and IHOP at last year's onething conference and you can see the effects even today! It's so neat!

Then we plundered the bookstore for some reading material to take home because we don't know the next time we'll be out here! We gotta stock up for the year!

Then to the prayer room we went which is always good. My intercession focus for the day was individual and corporate provision, but I was getting distracted by their topic of America, which I just turned into prayer for Canada!

Lunch was yummy at Panera and we got to meet Drew's girlfriend, Cat, who seems very sweet. Drew is absolutely living on cloud 9 right now! He's got enough energy for an army! That so awesome!

We headed back to the PR for a short time and then went back to the Coopers for a nap. We were both beat. We've been going to bed at 1am every night and so we were a little tired!

Then off to EGS for the evening service. Mike's message was on connecting the first and second commandments together. It was really good! I want to know God's love for me. I want to receive God's love for me. I want to love myself the way He loves me and I want to love others out of those realities! I especially want to love those well that are close to me.

We grabbed Sonic for a late supper (I love their sweet tea!) and headed back to the Coopers. We were sad to pack up and leave last night as we've thoroughly enjoyed Kristi, Steven and Shiloh. Shiloh has been such a blessing to have around. It has been so nice to connect with another couple that is in similar shoes as Shane and I. Kristi and I are both nurses, who love our jobs but want to do family and prayer movement stuff as our priority. Our husbands are full-time in the prayer movement. It was great to connect on some of those issues that we don't usually get to connect with others on. They can identify with some of our struggles!

We packed the van up and headed over to Mary Jean and Tony's where we will be staying until Monday. We really like these friends of our too and have enjoyed their hospitality, generosity and friendship over the last 2-3 years!

Well, today's update will come later!

Kansas City Trip - Day 6

Today begins the birthday celebrations for 2008 and the celebration of 26! Christina took me out for a yummy birthday breakfast! It was a lovely time of chatting, discussing what God is doing in our hearts and lives and partaking of yummy food at Le Peep! Thanks so much Christina for making me feel special, taking me out and the beautiful pink card with nice words! I love pink, quality time and quality conversation with friends and words of affirmation, topped off with a hug to get the love language of physical touch in there!

Then Shane and I got in to the healing rooms for prayer and visited the bookstore to spy out all the loot we'd like before heading back to the Coopers. As of 3pm, we are presently baby-sitting a gorgeous, sweetheart named Shiloh. Steven and Kristi had the honor of adopting Shiloh who is still very new, having arrived on September 11! I'm blogging while Shane is sitting next to me, making her coo and smile. My Shaner is going to be such an amazing daddy when the time comes =)

Our evening will consist of bottlefeeding, burping, holding, cooing, loving, diaper changing, cuddling, etc. The plan is for Christina to come by and give Shiloh a squish! We hope to go for a walk with the stroller or a sling this evening, because the weather is awesome (23 degrees)! We may fit in our first trip to Walmart and Sonic for a quick supper later on! We'll see what the evening holds!

It should be fun and full of a lot of love!

Kansas City Trip - Day 5

This morning I turned off the alarm again. Yep. But this time instead of snoozing for a short period and waking up, we slept another hour and a half! That was nice!

We headed to the prayer room and caught the last 45 minutes of the intercession set. My focus today was on human trafficking. I am finding assigning an intercession focus for the day very helpful! I used to do that at home but haven't done it in a while. I'm thinking it's time to start again...

We walked home to eat our leftovers for lunch before heading back to the prayer room until 6pm. It's been a nice day!

We had supper with Mary Jean and Tony at their place this evening. It was nice to have supper together and catch up. They are special friends of ours down here. I'm so glad we met them years ago and have maintained a friendship! We're heading over there on Friday until Monday when we leave. We already have a date to play the Wii after EGS on Friday!

Things are going well! We are having a really nice holiday time. We are enjoying friendships, enjoying prayer room time and eating yummy food! I'm getting into the mode and enjoying it! Fabulous weather helps makes the time enjoyable too!

Kansas City Trip - Day 4

The day started with turning off the alarm and sleeping a little longer. Then we got ready and headed to the prayer room from 10:30-2:30pm. My intercession focus today was the ending of abortion.

At 2:30pm, we tried a new restaurant for a late lunch with Christina. We loved the sweet tea at Chic Fil-A and the service was incredible! We were making small talk with the manager that we were visiting IHOP and friends, from Canada. He came by our table a little while later and gave us refills, a free drink for Christina and free ice cream for Shane and I! What a blessing!

Then Shane and I headed back to the prayer room from 4:30-6pm ish. We headed home to touch base and gave Shiloh a little love squish =)

Tonight was date night! Shane and I drove out to the Plaza to dine at The Cheesecake Factory. It was so yummy! We both had pasta and shared a piece of fabulous strawberry cheesecake! I must have had the hottest date in the place =) We laughed, walked and took a few pictures before heading home for the night.

Now we're back at home, had some snuggles with Shiloh and will be heading to bed soon!

Yeah for holidays!

Kansas City Trip - Day 3

Today was another lovely day =) The weather out here has been great and I'm living in my flip flops! Wooo hooo!

We woke up a little earlier than yesterday to get the day started sooner. Kristi made us yummy french toast and we prepared to head to the prayer room.

We made it to IHOP by 10 ish and made a visit to Mary Jean! We are staying with Mary Jean and Tony from Friday to Monday and looking forward to connecting with them!

We spent 10:30am to 1pm in the prayer room. The intercession set was awesome! I was focusing on the Canadian election in my intercession times today.

Shane and I had a lunch time date and went to eat at Panera (yummy!), hit Bath and Body (got your stuff Mom Farrow) and to Shane's delight, hit up the Apple Store!

Back to the prayer room from 3-5pm for another bit of a WWW set and an hour of intercession.

Then we headed back to the Coopers to go out for supper together! It was a great evening! We had our first Jack Stack's experience and it was yummy! The company was great! After some espresso for the guys and some frozen custard, we headed home for the evening. Kristi and I went for a nice walk and we've been talking and laughing throughout the evening!

What a lovely time!

Kansas City Trip - Day 2

Today was very relaxing! We caught up on sleep from the lack of the night before by sleeping from 12am - 10am. It was lovely!

Then we got to meet Kristi and Shiloh for the first time! Shane and I have enjoyed holding Shiloh throughout the day! She is super cute!

The Coopers made us a lovely brunch and we chatted with them for quite a while, before getting ready for the day. We did everything slowly this morning!

We took a nice walk to the prayer room at 2:30pm and stayed for the Worship With the Word set until 4pm. My dear Shaner was still exhausted from the lack of sleep from the drive and so we headed over to Higher Grounds for some caffeine for Shane and of course, a Naked for me!

We walked back and snuggled with Shiloh and chatted with Kristi, before heading over to FCF. We then got some ice cream on the way home and came back to the Coopers for food! 2 of their friends were here to join us for some chatting and food and we enjoyed pizza, chips, sweet tea and ice cream! I got some more snuggle time with Shiloh in and she slept on me for quite a while. That's the best!

We are in holiday mode! It is so nice to connect with friends, sleep in and do things at a slower pace and get time in the prayer room and at services. We've started out the trip at a slow and relaxing speed which has been nice! Tomorrow we hope to make it to the prayer room for a couple hours and have supper with the Coopers somewhere yummy!

Good-night all!

Kansas City Trip - Day 1

We left last night at 7:17pm and arrived in KC this morning at 8:53am, from our parking spot to the IHOP parking lot! Shane and I enjoyed each other's company for the 13 and a half hours! The roughest part was when I was driving the shift from 4:30am to 8am. It felt so unsafe as I could barely keep my eyes open. Shane had driven 7.5 hours or so and so it was my turn. I tried all kinds of things....jumping in my seat, doing range of motion exercises, listening to cds, listening to Allen Hood passionately preach, slapping my leg and cheek, praying desperately for help to stay awake and whatever else I could do to keep my eyes open! Yikes!

We prayed a lot about safety specific to deer. We had a scary moment when Shane hit the breaks as a deer casually walked across the highway in front of our van! I had just shut my eyes and so that was a little frightening! My prayer throughout the night was "Thank-you that Your leadership over my life is perfect"! Otherwise it is easy to fear things we can't control!

When we arrived we spent 45 minutes in the prayer room. Justin Rizzo welcomed us with a nice smile and nod from the piano, as he led the 8-10 set. If you want to see it, check out the 9:05 ish time from the 8-10 set from this morning =)

We got a bite to eat at Higher Grounds and headed over to the Cooper's house, where we are staying until Friday. We are excited to meet Shiloh and Kristi! Hopefully tomorrow as they had to make an appearance at a shower this weekend and haven't come home yet!

We chatted with Steven for a while and then crashed for a 2 hour nap. We woke up with dry eyes needing Visine (which I forgot at home...bummer) and got freshened up for supper with Christina! We had a lovely supper at Chipotle's with our lovely friend! Joel, it was yummy and I ate the whole baby =) Sanctuary friends, Christina is doing great and very much alive on the inside, according to our report! We're pumped to see what God is doing in her life! It's awesome!

Then I headed to EGS for the service and sat with Christina and the Commissioners. Worship was good. I was already hearing this from the Lord. Oh, how I love that! The message was good too. I sometimes forget that KC is a place with long teachings! The message was well over an hour! I responded to the ministry time and had a lovely time receiving revelation from the Lord and prayer from random people, including the speaker, with tears streaming down my face. That's a great way to start the holiday!

I spent an extra hour plus in the prayer room enjoying the love of the Lord, the beautiful sounds of instruments and voices, and journalling what God has been doing in my heart today.

Now, I'm back at our home away from home and feeling that crawling into bed would be divine!

We're off!!!

We're headed to Kansas City for a little holiday! We're leaving shortly (October 3) and will be arriving home in the evening of the 13th! I'm also turning 26 out there on the 12th!

I'm looking forward to it and will try to blog a few updates from there!

Pray for our safe travels and a great holiday with encounters with the Lord!

Pray, Vote, Obey.

Abortion is a very serious issue in our nation and throughout our globe. Sadly, deception and disillusionment has swept in throughout the church and made this issue grey and uncomfortable to talk about, possibly seen as more of a political issue to discuss.

I am for life. I am against abortion. I support adoption. I wear a life braclet (check out bound4life.com) to remind myself to pray for the ending of abortion, to vote in accordance with my beliefs and to obey the Lord in the actions that He calls us to do to raise up a cry for injustice.

I will continue to pray for these babies, moms, medical staff and the government that makes and enforces our laws, or in the case of Canada, lack of laws.

It is not ok that we have killed millions of babies in our land. "More than three million unborn babies have died from abortion in Canada since 1969, when abortion was first decriminalized." (abortionincanada.ca) This is not ok. Our generation is perishing.

So, I encourage you, pray for this issue! Let the Lord stir your heart for the things that stir His. He loves babies. He creates each one and has designed them to live (see Psalm 139). Pray for our government and that the issue of abortion would be wide open and on the table again. Pray for the medical staff that are involved with these procedures daily. Pray that the doctors in our nation would be encountered by the Holy Spirit, saved and stop doing abortions and that our nation of Canada wouldn't have any physician willing to preform an abortion. Would the fear of the Lord fall upon our land.

Pray for the mothers that feel like they have no choice. Pray for their salvation, their healing and a love for their babies to grow inside them. Pray for these moms to have dreams and visions from the Lord about their babies that would change these appointments with death. Pray for families to adopt these babies. Pray for the spirit of adoption to run swiftly across Canada, especially in the Bride. Pray for homes to open wide their doors to welcome these babies into families.

Please, pray, vote and obey.

Hungry for knowledge

In general, it's not the easiest thing for me to seek out learning experiences on a day to day basis. But it all depends on what I'm learning!

I love taking an hour to listen to a good teaching about something to do with Jesus and my heart. I loved to read as a child and am trying to get back into reading on a more consistent basis. I do love to read the Word and I find study guides very helpful!

The difficult thing can be making the necessary time to actually make space to sit down and lock in. I sure like having 2-3 hours to do that, though some days I have barely 10 minutes between shifts, sleep and a quick meal. Those days communing with God through 30 second prayers are my connecting point!

But, today's search for knowledge takes a different route than the usual. Today I'm going to a conference that has to do with my role as a nurse. We are encouraged to attend conferences and workshops to continue our education and learning as nurses. I haven't gone to many in my time but this one interested me!

Today I'm going to be learning about "The Care of the Late Preterm Infant", meaning caring for babies that are born early at 34-36 weeks gestation. Late, meaning almost term, not deceased, for clarification.

I'm excited to learn today! Meals, handouts and beverages are provided which is a bonus! I'm getting reimbursed for the registration fee (which is always an arm and a leg in the name of continuing education) and even getting paid for an 8 hour work day!

I hope to have a greater knowledge base that will allow me to care for these little ones with more sensitivity to their individual needs and to be able to teach their parents more about them and how to care for them! I'm excited to learn today! It's like being a student again, which I enjoyed for the most part!

A Thankful Heart

I have much to be thankful for. I was thinking about that this afternoon and thinking on all the blessings in my life caused me to start thanking God for a bunch of things.

So, I'm thankful for:
- my marriage and fabulous husband!
- who He made me...I'm me and that's who I'm designed to be!
- warm baths
- the season of autumn...It's my favorite for sure!
- all the finances that God has provided, especially over the last 3 years
- the nearness of God and His presence in my life
- the beginning of seasons and the end of seasons
- our upcoming trip to Kansas City!
- my awesome family!
- what God has been doing with Sanctuary in the last 5 months
- the conference that I get to go to tomorrow through work that I'm excited about!
- all the resources I have to aid in expanding my knowledge of God
- worship...it sure unlocks my heart
- the honor of partnering with Jesus through intercession...it's incredible!
- my early birthday present from Shane - an incredibly, awesome hair straightener!

There is always so much to be thankful for, though I don't always see it that way. The topic of thankfulness tends to remind me of "Madame Blueberry" from Veggie Tales, if I remember correctly from so many years ago. I sure want to be thankful despite my circumstances, whether easy or difficult, good or bad.

Yesterday, I was doing some studying in the Song of Solomon. I was reading through chapter 5 and the part where the Shulamite is experiencing the north winds of adversity and her response to the hard times when the Lord's presence isn't so near and difficulties are faced.

"Will we seek God if He withholds the things we deeply desire? Will we be His when we cannot feel His presence? Will we love and trust Him when we are disappointed by circumstances? We must work our "faith muscle" as the way to re-align our hearts so as to grow in love in difficulty." (The Song of Songs Study Guide by Mike Bickle)

I desire that my life would "show forth devotion to Jesus in difficulty that people would want to know what I know and how I carry my heart".

Sharing from the heart...

I sure love when I can share something that I actually feel is alive in me on the inside. Then again, some moments it feels alive and others, it may feel hard to access those truths. Last Sunday, I had the pleasure of preaching at Sanctuary on the Fundamental Truth of Love. It was really fun and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would! This morning, Shane and I are heading to the Elmwood Vineyard to share on Intimacy with Jesus through Prayer! It should be a fun experience!

I feel like I'm drawing closer to the Lord and He's drawing closer to me lately. Even though I have less time to sit on my bed and read/study/pray, I am finding moments where my heart is expanded in love. A walk down the hallway at work or a moment to steal away for a bathroom break, seem to be ideal moments to remind me to connect with the Lord. I'll be washing my hands and look up to the mirror and suddenly my heart and lips are saying "Oh Jesus, I love you".

The other night I was walking to my van after work and simply enjoying His presence. The last 4 hours of my shift had been crazy busy and my heart, mind and body were still spinning. It just took a moment where the Spirit reminded me to get me back to the place where I felt I was communing with Him deeply, on the inside. Jesus and I started talking and by the time I was at the van, I was smiling and chuckling about how personal He is with me!

In the last 2 work days, I've had 3 nice compliments from patients and coworkers that stuck out in my memory. No kidding when you're talking to a person that has Words of Affirmation at the top of her love languages! I need to take those as high-fives from the Lord! He is pleased with me and sometimes tells me through other people.

I remember a very distinct time when someone was talking to me and I just knew it was straight from the Father's heart, in a non-ministry situation. I was working with adults with disabilities. One of the young women was working near me and suddenly out of the blue tells me with such genuine love in her eyes and voice that I was very beautiful. It was random, out of the blue, during the work day. I knew as soon as she said it who was behind the love that was expressed through her words, tone and eyes. It was the Father talking to me during a mundane work day, through an human being! That was so neat and has always stuck in my mind.

My desire is to deeply know the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I want God to have full access to my heart, soul, mind and strength and I want to know Him in my emotions. There is simply nothing better than the tangible presence of the Lord. It is so delightful to my soul and I know that there is nothing else that will satisfy!

And we celebrated!

Yesterday was deemed "We love Stephanie" Day. So the day was spent celebrating Steph and making her feel loved and appreciated! We wanted to fill up her love tank!

I picked Steph up at noon and started the day off by blindfolding her for the trip to our first destination. She removed the blindfold at Assiniboine Park, where we had a lovely picnic while enjoying incredible weather!




We were joined by many bees or wasps...I'm not sure what. We had a running total of casualties. We killed 9 of them!

Then it was off to the zoo for the afternoon! We walked for 2 hours and enjoyed one another's company and looking at all the animals!





Then back came the blindfold and we headed over to Grand Prix for some fun bumper cars and go kart racing!





I ran a quick errand to the flower shop with my blindfolded sister waiting in the passenger seat. We got a few interesting looks =)

Then we headed back to our apartment, where my wonderful husband was cleaning the place, cooking up a storm and arranging a party-like atmosphere! Stephanie entered our home to the sound of the Hamster Song, and the surprise of 72 ballons, a banner telling her all kinds of things we like about her and some of her favorite flowers! My hubbie had some beautiful flowers for me too!




We all dressed up for dinner and Shane escorted her (blindfolded again) down the hall to our awaited dinner! Then we took fun pics with all those ballons!







We continued the evening with a movie, banana splits and a few more small presents. We ended the festivities by building a fort in the living room and having a sleepover! When is the last time we did that?! Sometime in our childhood! It was so fun!








So, happy "We love Stephanie" Day to you all...and specifically to Steph! We love you! I hope you feel it!

Here's the update...

I have "dermatographism"....plainly said, skin writing. According to healthy-skincare.com, "friction of the skin causes raised red and itchy lines in the pattern of the irritation". I get hives and we don't know why I'm itchy in the first place.

I was pretty discouraged when I got home. First, I had to wait a long time (which is fine) and then the doctor didn't have time to answer all my questions because she was running behind time. I don't mind waiting, but I wanted to have her attention then when I do get to see her. At least she was really nice.

Secondly, I got a "diagnosis" without obvious answers to the problem. We don't even know why I'm itchy, I just have a name for it now. And...the worst part, I could be on long term antihistamine medications every day. That was the last straw.

In the last 4-5 years, I've had one thing after another arise. They aren't huge, life-threatening issues, but the build up of one after another is enough to drive me crazy. The problem I have with each issue is that I get a silly diagnosis with the "we don't know what's causing it" and "it could be a long term issue". I don't get clear answers to what's causing the problem. I don't get answers of how to solve it. And, they all want me to be on medications for an undetermined amount of time.

1. I hate taking meds. I usually just suffer through a headache because I tend to dislike taking a pill.
2. All these silly medications are stinkin' expensive! That can add a little stress.
3. I don't like using medication as a final answer. I can understand it's use for a short time but hate not having other options.

I'm just sick of having one annoyance after another. I want full healing and it seems so slow in coming. We're contending for healing. We have been for years in our household. Today I was frustrated about it. It's not the usual these days, but today it got me sad.

Tears made me feel a little better. And knowing that I'm getting a resurrected body in the not so distant future =)

Itchy, itchy, itchy.

I'm still itchy...when I'm not medicated. That being said, I've mostly been medicated since June!

I started feeling itchy on June 18th and it has continued on every time I stop taking medication. How annoying is that?

So, today is my long-awaited appointment with a dermatologist consult, which thankfully I called and got bumped up from the end of October's original date. I am not expecting much, sadly. Medicine is just so very trial and error and often leaves you with no answers. That's too bad.

Thankfully, I have a Great Physician. I will continue to pray for healing for this entire body of mine! Please join me!

I really don't want to stay medicated. I even dislike taking tylenol or advil for a headache. So, I'm hoping the dermatologist has something good to say to me this morning!

Jesus...in my everything...

As I mentioned briefly last post, I spent the last 3 days sick or recovery and in classroom days at the hospital. I'm orientating to another ward that I will float to.

The thought of adding another area to my knowledge base and work load is quite frightening for me. It is especially frightening because it's a world away from the type of work I do now. I'm presently pretty specialized, spending my working hours in 3 different wards committed to labor, delivery, recovery and postpartum, caring for moms and babes.

Well, my horizons are soon going to expand to include a larger demographic of women, from the beginning of life to the end. I'm orientating to a gynecology/antepartum unit, which is much more a medical/surgical taste than what I'm used to. Many things they do there, I haven't seen or done since university, and for the most part, had hoped not to have to do or see to be honest.

The last 3 days have caused me to think about many things that I have not had to think about in the last 3 years since graduation. It made me feel somewhat nervous, partly excited and kinda of interested.

This could be a good thing. It is good to learn new things, have challenges, stretch abilities and grow. Even when it's frightening!

I went home thanking God for allowing me the honor of a profession that fuels my intercession for others and urges intimate conversation between my Beloved and myself. For example, a teaching on chemotherapy led me to spend some time in prayer for those with cancer and undergoing chemo in Winnipeg. A lecture on wound care with the words on a PowerPoint presentation of "width, length and depth" immediately put a smile on my face and caused me to pray Ephesians 3:17-19 over myself. A conversation with a coworker allowed me to hear what she's been through and allowed me to tell her that I would be praying for her children.

Simply seeing new life and being a part of a workplace that also experiences great tragedy where we expect great joy makes prayer and intercession necessary in my life.

It is incredible the many things that God can use to provoke us to say yes again, whisper an "I love you" to Him or pray for another or a whole city.

Yesterday....

Yesterday signified 8 years that I've had the pleasure of holding the role of Shane's girlfriend, fiancee or wife! It's hard to believe 8 years have gone by. It has been a great 8 years together!

We celebrated with myself being sick. Boo! I either got a quick and nasty flu bug or some food poisoning...not sure. But it was very nasty, especially coming from a gal who has vomited only about 3 times, including this one, in her adult life! Very, very nasty.

I'm also in the process of doing Core Orientation at the hospital as the wards I work on expand as a Maternal/Child Float. I knew the day was super important, so when I could keep from running to the bathroom, I ventured out of the house. That too was nasty, as I felt super sick all day and evening.

I spend the evening on the couch being very well cared for by my sweetheart of 8 years. Shane made me chicken noodle soup and tea, filled and refilled my hot water bottle and in general took very good care of me. I definitely felt well cared for!

I slept for a good portion of the evening off and on and then went to bed by 10pm.

I'm not nauseous this morning. Yeah! And not nearly as achy. Let's hope the worst is behind us!

And yeah for 8 years of love!