Eyes on me

So being recently married meant a change in living accommodations for my wife and I and we are in an apartment that is not quite set up yet. We have also recently been on a curtain kick. And by we I mean my wife. Well I've finally started to get the message as she asked me one night last week, "Can you look out the office window and tell me if there is someone looking in here?" I assured her that no one would be looking in but said I would check anyway. And holy crap there was someone staring in! In the apartment building right next to us there was someone holding open a slit in the blinds showing only a pair of eyes that thought if they didn't look right at me I wouldn't see them. CREEPY. So the other night I was working in my little office at the apartment and I was "ready for bed" as I worked. I was working until about 1am when I glanced over my shoulder though our window that still doesn't have blinds and saw those same eyes staring at me! It scared me half to death and as I looked back, he didn't even move! He slipped back behind the blinds but his freaking light was on so I could still see the silhouette of him standing there and pulling the blinds aside every now and again. Very creepy. So the point is that OUR blinds are going up TODAY. And every window will now have curtains or blinds.

So if you are at your computer (not a big leap, but I'm there) and perhaps it's night time, you may want to look out your window to see if anyone is watching... It is possible

My Life...

I think this is my life… it has changed so much so quickly that it is kind of hard to tell sometimes. So here is the run down my friends.

I did, in fact, graduate from Maritime Christian College, woot, and no longer have to do the school thing. This is where I exhale a sigh of relief, excuse me… ok I’m back. It was an emotional day and a great one filled with family and friends. I was blessed with the opportunity to address the class of 2006 and was honoured to do so. Here are a few pics.

Also! I got married to the most beautiful, wonderful, amazing person I have ever met and am still getting used to calling her my “wife” and introducing her as Jacquelyn Foreman. (note the correct spelling for future reference) Now that was an emotional day FOR SURE. Yes, I will go ahead and say it myself so you don’t have to: I am a cry baby. I am what I am. What a great day. My family and friends mean so much to me and I was delighted by the ones who shared in our special day. My minister had beautiful service for us, my brother made me cry, my youth helped out at the reception, how wonderful it was indeed. Here are a few pics.

Then we had the honeymoon! You don’t get the details on that one. I’ll just say it was a great week and we went to the Hopewell Rocks. Very nice. Here is a pic.

And on that week after the wedding I got a new (to me) truck that my mother gave me! Thanks Mom!!!! Here is the new truck.

And in that same week (on the way home from the honeymoon) our car died so now all we have is the truck which loves gas which is not cheap. Here is my reaction to the dead engine in the car.
I think that is all for now so there you go and I hope to get more posts on here now that I am only terribly busy instead of insanely-out-of-control busy. Have a great day and if you want to give me a 2.4 litre engine I would be your best friend. Ok?

Tough Day

Some things in life are pretty easy and other days things are pretty rough. Today was rough. Today we said good-bye to a dear friend. A furry friend as well. Maxwell "House Coffee" MacKinnon was laid to rest today at the age of 15 years. He was the beloved dog of my finance's family. This afternoon we said our good-byes and gathered Max up into the van and headed into town. It was a long and difficult drive even for me and I have only known Max for a little over 3 years. We were almost there when we decided to take a detour to Burger King for a cheese burger and then on to McDonalds for an ice cream. He scarfed it down right away and was very relaxed.

Tonight we buried him and said good bye with a miniature service and a prayer. I don't know what happens to animals when they die but I would like to think that we will see the animals we love so much again and I do believe that Max is in a better place now.

God love you Max, thanks for the memories.

Back at it.

Well folks, I am alive. I made it through all the papers, exams and studying. I graduated last Sunday and am now hard at work at the Church. I'm in the middle of moving junk into my new apartment, then moving some junk from that apartment to the office, then from the office to the apartment and then some right to the trash and then to the Wal-Mart to get new things to replace the stuff that apparently wasn't "junk" that I should not have thrown out! So I'm still as busy as ever! No time to slow down for me! I was in a wedding of my good pal Corey Dickinson (whose 20th birthday is tomorrow) last Saturday and mine is in less then 2 weeks!!! Yup lots to do on top of getting stuff ready for the up coming youth conference that I cannot attend but need to find leaders for!! YIKES! And I am WAY to busy to talk to you any longer so I must be off! Here is a pic of me and Corey before he ran off to get married and one from Graduation. Bye.

This Sucks

Well for the first time since 1998 the Leafs are going to miss the play offs. They needed to win most of their final games to make it possible and have done that but it is just too little too late. They beat the Sens badly tonight by a 5-1 score that could have been even higher but Tampa scored an OT winner in Carolina that broke the hopes of the playoffs and hearts of Leaf fans. "There's always next year" seems to ring in my head as it does every year at some point. Its funny how something that you have no control over can have such and impact on you. I have 6 more things on my to do list and could get at least one of them done but my mind just wont work right now. I'm going to bed and hopefully will fall asleep quickly.

Well boys you never gave up, I'm still proud to be a fan.

Go Leafs Go

Calmer of the Storm - Downhere

When everything is wrong
The day has passed and nothing's done
And the whole world seems against me
When I'm rolling in my bed,
there's a storm in my head
I'm afraid of sinking in despair.

CHORUS
Teach me, Lord to have faith
In what you're bringing me will
Change my life and bring you glory and...

There on the storm I am learning to let go
Of the will that I so long to control
There may I be in your arms eternally
I thank you, Lord,
You are the calmer of the storm.

You rebuke the wind and the waves
Once again I find I'm amazed
At the power of your will
Cuz I'm a child of little faith
I feel the wind and forget your grace
And you say, "Peace, be still."

There on the storm I am learning to let go
The white wave's high,
It's crashing o'er the deck
And I don't know where I go
Where are you Lord, is my ship going down?
The mast is gone so throw the anchor
Should I jump and try to swim to land?

There on the storm,
Teach me God to understand
Of the Will that I just cannot control
There may I see all you love protecting me
I thank you Lord,
You are the calmer of the storm.

My Prayer for Today

God,
How awesome you truly are
You are so big and I am so small
You are mighty and I am so, so, so very weak
Thank you for loving me with a love that is bigger then my mind can imagine

Lord, help me to be real
Let honesty flow from me
I want to be a genuine person
I want to be a person who desires to seek and serve you all the time
Help me to mature and to understand your ways
Give me acceptance of what comes my way
Give me trust in your plans

God protect me from Satan and all the crap he wants to put in my life
Protect my eyes
Protect my ears
Protect my lips Lord, that I would please you with my mind and body
Please keep a close guard on my attitude
Remind me of the joy and victory that is only found in you

Thank you Lord so much that you have saved me
When I look at my life and see the person I am
Especially compared to your greatness I don’t understand why you want me
You have not only given me life but blessed me in it
You are so good to me, help me to remember that
Help me to always remember you
To speak to you
To allow you to speak to me

Lord,
Please help me to remember that I will not face anything today that you and I cannot handle…
Together

I love you Lord
Amen

Sportsmanlike

Let me tell this: When I was a kid, sportsmanlike is not an adjective you would use to describe me as a player in minor hockey. I was mouthy, had a short temper and my retaliation penalties were very predictable. Sportsmanship was something my father always emphasized. I can hear him still saying "just skate away, just skate away." I just couldn't do it.

Well Dad, that is all in the past! Last night was our final night of "Friday Night Hockey" of the season and Seraphim (who is awesome for organizing the ice time) had the 3 esso medals for us which was kind of fun. And holy cow, I won "Most Sportsmanlike!" So there you go Dad, your words didn't fall on deaf ears. James Stevenson: Most Improved, David Marshall: Most Dedicated, Ben Foreman: Most Sportsmanlike.

What a fun Season.

Great Game, Bad Memory

So last night I went to watch my good buddy Andrew Burt play in what would be the deciding game in the Midget AAA finals. It was an awesome hockey game, very intense. Scoreless for two periods and it seemed that the first goal would be all too important. Finally it came but it was not Sherwood, who I was rooting for, it was Montague. It looked as though this would be absolutely deflating for the Sherwood team but less then a minute later my good buddy Burt (Parkdale) scored to make it even (TSN Turning Point) and less then a minute after that Sherwood scored to pull ahead. I was thinking this is amazing!!! I reached into my pocket for my camera, sensing a win and when I turned it on I was horrified to read "No Memory Card." So now I have to buy a freaking news paper to get a picture of it. Nice going eh, geez. I'll put the pic up when I get it scanned

Here is the newspaper clipping, the writer obvioulsy wasn't at the game or knows nothing about hockey... notice the line about the "shut out" and "other goal" which was huge! Anyways...

Encouragement

Some people in this life are “Encouragers.”  And I would like to encourage them to keep on.  Because I love them, and I NEED them.  (I just started one sentence with “and,” and another with “because.”  This thing is a grammatical nightmare already!)  You see, I am someone who really thrives on people and positive energy.  I like to think of myself as a pretty light hearted person who is very easygoing.  However I tend to be someone to takes a lot on at once, too much really… according to my beautiful bride to be.  So my stress level can be a little high.

This is why I so much appreciate people who can give that extra push by saying something nice, leaving a note, or making a telephone call.  These things can really turn a situation around.  And I have really appreciated people in my life who really keep me going with encouragement.  Ephesians 4:29 says we should build others up according to their needs.  I encourage you to consider it!

Waiting Room

So I’m sitting here in the Sherwood clinic and its lots of fun like usual. I’ve had this bug for 2 weeks and at different points I was sure I had it beat but I’ve finally come to get some drugs. Man I hate being sick. My life operates at such a fast pace and I have so many things to get done so it makes slowing down very inconvenient and rather irritating. So I’m 24th on the list and they keeping calling people up to give their health cards I’m eyeing the people who are being called up and trying to remember if I was here before them. Man I hate waiting. I guess that’s just part of life…waiting. We live in such a world of convenience that when we have to wait for something (for once) it’s just a great big pain isn’t it. It really sucks sitting here because I know what it is I need and I just need to get it. I have something like strep throat or a virus of some sort, I take amoxisilian for it. It’s the same freaking thing every time. I wish amateur MD’s like myself could just to the pharmacy and request our antibiotic and get the heck out of here. But instead here I sit and they … oh they called my name! Ok so I’m ahead one step because I just gave my health card info… why don’t they file that information somewhere anyways? It’s the same thing every time. I mean, every time I run myself into the ground and get sick I always come here and every time I give them the same information. Card #, Dr., no allergies. How much space could that possibly take up. Not that it’s a big deal to give it to them every time. I just feel like complaining. I really shouldn’t even be writing this. I should be working on one of my many reports or assignments I have due. I just can’t seem to concentrate on them in here and I need to pass the time some how. People keep trying to look over my shoulder and read what I’m writing. Man I hope I get in soon. My throat is killing me, just on one side. And there seems to be a never ending mass of snot in my head and throat. I really would like to know how it all fits in there. Geez. I’m such an idiot. Normally as soon as I start to get the bug I just go to clinic right away, they give me some drugs and I pretty much avoid the whole thing but for some reason I decided this was a good time to tough it out. I’m insanely busy right now and just don’t have time to be sick and this is when I decide my immune system needs a challenge. The person beside me totally just coughed all over my arm. I hope whatever they give me cures whatever he has too! Geez. I really hope they call me soon… although they haven’t called anyone in a while. I just want to get out of here. My laptop found a connection but it’s a secured network so I can’t use it. No web surfing for the sick-o I guess. Well I’m getting bored with this and I’m sure you are too so I’m gonna see if I can occupy myself some other way. Hope you don’t get the bug… take your Flintstone Vitamins!

Some time has passed

Well its been a while since I’ve written on this old thing and I’m sure that very few people check it these days. I have been (and still am) in the middle of the busiest time I have ever experienced in my life to this point. Between school, church, work, getting married in three months, traveling, speaking and the little time I have for sleep my life is about as jam-packed as it can get.

I’ve been saying throughout the duration of this time that it is rather amazing to me that I haven’t gotten sick yet. Usually my pattern is: Push till you can’t push anymore and then get sick for a week or two… repeat. Well, I’m finally sick. Yee Haw, with a project or two overdue and several more on the horizon.

And its funny how I’m so overwhelmed with speaking engagements, youth group, Christian college and the like yet I seem to find it difficult to remember to fit in my own time with God. I’m so busy preparing to aid others into a better relationship with the creator that I neglect the most important thing in my life. Isn’t that nuts? I really need to take care of my prayer life before this gets out of hand.



I’m so run down right now, this is the first weekend in while that I get to sleep in my own bed. 2 weeks ago I spoke at a men’s retreat in L’Etete. That is a very small town in the southern part of New Brunswick. It was a good time, but carried along with it stresses of its own. Then last weekend my good friend James and I were promoting Maritime Christian College in Ontario where I ended up speaking 3 times between the camp and preaching at Keele Street Christian in Toronto. www.keelestreet.ca It was fun, and by and large successful. But everything that James and I attempted in the city didn’t pan out at all. Then our flight back home was delayed for 20 minutes and then cancelled altogether because of a snow storm in the Maritimes. We ended up getting to Hamilton the next day in the afternoon and made it home in time for me to go to a meeting. I’m still trying to recover but when you’re tired, sick, and a little grumpy it makes things tough. I’ll be ok once I get my overdue crap finished. I should likely get at it instead of talking to you fine people. If you have read this in its entirety then you are likely procrastinating too. Either that or you really like to read about nothing. Whichever you are, get back to work and have a good one eh!


Later on I throw the list of things that went wrong on the trip to Ontario. I think there are 27 things.

BE MY ESCAPE (Relient K)

Video Code provided by VideoCodeZone.Com

"Be My Escape"

I’ve given up on giving up slowly,
I’m blending in so
You won’t even know me
apart from this whole world that shares my fate
This one last bullet you mention
is my one last shot at redemption
because I know to live you must give your life away
And I’ve been housing all this doubt and insecurity and
I’ve been locked inside that house
all the while You hold the key
And I’ve been dying to get out
and that might be the death of me
And even though, there’s no way in knowing
where to go, promise I’m going because
I gotta get outta here
I’m stuck inside this rut that I fell into by mistake
I gotta get outta here
And I’m begging You, I’m begging You,
I’m begging You to be my escape.

I’m giving up on doing this alone now
Cause I’ve failed and I’m ready to be shown how
He’s told me the way and I’m trying to get there
And this life sentence that I’m serving
I admit that I’m every bit deserving
But the beauty of grace is that it makes life not fair

Cause I’ve been housing all this doubt and insecurity and
I’ve been locked inside that house
all the while You hold the key
And I’ve been dying to get out
and that might be the death of me
And even though, there’s no way in knowing
where to go, promise I’m going because
I gotta get outta here
Cause I’m afraid that this complacency
is something I can’t shake
I gotta get outta here
And I’m begging You, I’m begging You,
I’m begging You to be my escape.

I am a hostage to my own humanity
Self detained and forced to live in this mess I’ve made
And all I’m asking is for You to do what You can with me
But I can’t ask You to give what You already gave

Cause I’ve been housing all this doubt and insecurity and
I’ve been locked inside that house
all the while you hold the key
And I’ve been dying to get out
and that might be the death of me
And even though, there’s no way in knowing
where to go, promise I’m going because
I’ve gotta get outta here
I’m stuck inside this rut that I fell into by mistake
I’ve gotta get outta here
And I’m begging You, I’m begging You,
I’m begging You to be my escape.

I fought You for so long
I should have let You in
Oh how we regret those things we do
And all I was trying to do was save my own skin
But so were You

So were You

I'll be home For Christmas

Let me just get the obligatory apology for not writing in a long long while: Sorry.   And now on to the post. Well it is that time of year again, Christmas. And as such many people travel home and I happen to fall into that category. Yes, I am home for Christmas. Traveling down familiar roads, seeing familiar faces and not having to eat Kraft Dinner.  It is a nice break from the everyday stress of school, papers, my crappy apartment, and the like.  However I must admit that I still tend to feel homesick over the holiday regardless of resting on old stomping grounds.  This Christmas is one, like last year that will be different from Christmas’ past.  The family is split up now so this makes Christmas kind of weird.  Opening presents without Mom and Christmas dinner without Dad are both firsts for me.  I don’t really like it but I guess this is part of life.

Yet as much as that sucks I’m sure Christmas will still be fine and we will get through it.  And there are better years ahead for sure.  There are certainly worse things in life.  Either way that is what I’m doing over the holidays so there you go.  If you are lucky enough to be able to spend this time with your family I encourage you to do so.  You never know what life will bring.

Merry Christmas.

Raw

Last night I did something that I hadn't done in years. I tuned in to Monday Night Raw. Now this isn't because I now plan to actively watch the show because for the most part, lets face it, it really isn't worth watching. Rather, I chose to watch last night because it had come to my attention that professional wrestler Eddie Guerrero had passed away that morning. This was obviously a tragedy as Guerrero was only 38 years old and because I am a fan of the sport but not the wwe I wanted to check it out.

I was able to watch most of the show, I only changed the channel for about 10 minutes while they had the girls on the show dance around with their selected ring attire to meet their quota but I was impressed to hear what the other wrestlers had to say about their fallen friend. They all said that he was one among them that really stood out. Just an outstanding person and friend. And over and over they refered to his faith and that he was a "born again" Christian. Now to be honest my initial reaction was skeptical but the more I heard from the others and the more they documented his status and relationship with the locker room the more I heard about someone who shined in the darkness. He had led a few of the others in the locker room to Christ as well. I was absolutely impressed and began to feel loss myself despite the fact that I haven't followed wrestling since they used to wrestle on that show. (remember that!) Seeing these huge grown men crying over their fallen friend because of what a great person he was.

What a great mission field that he worked in and if he did have that relationship with the Lord then he is in a better place and his life is a testimony that will still impact many. I hope and pray that many will draw to Christ in Eddie's passing as they did because of the impression he left when he lived. He found Christ after a life of addiction involving drinking and drugs but allowed the Lord to lead him out of it. Heart failure because of that past was the reason for Eddie's passing.

It was nice to see that show and I'm glad I tuned in. The message of Christ was mentioned over and over and I hope that it inspires the WWE organization to see where Eddie's hope came from.

Eddie Guerrero 1967-2005

Blessed by Radio today

Today, just like the past two days, I woke up and did not pray but sighed. I grumbled to myself about the weather, how tired I am, and how much there is to get done. I complained about our incredibly messy apartment of which my room would take first place for messiness closely followed by the kitchen and bathroom. I have been in a sour mood for the past few days and as a result have not been productive or all that pleasant to be around I'm sure. We are just coming into the thick of mid-terms and papers and I already have assignments that are behind. Christmas is less than two months away so I'm trying to glean some of the joy that seems to radiate from my brother/roommate but to tell you the truth I'm finding it quite hard to be excited about it this year.

So I decided that I should clean up the kitchen because it was starting to stink... again and I put on "Walk in the word" to listen to while I did the dishes. And what did good old James MacDonald have for me today. Why a message about contentment in his series on Joy. It is really weird but most of the time when I tune in to walk in the word I find that James preaching right to me. This is a great message and I want to encourage you to tune in to it. It has really blessed my day and helped me, at least for today, change my attitude and choose joy. God has richly blessed me in so many ways it is just too hard to stay sour today.

I encourage you to click on "walk in the word" in my "links" list and click on today's broadcast to hear this message and any other message. More often than not it is a real blessing.

HOCKEY

It has been a little while since I've posted so let me just tell you a bit about what is running through my head today... HOCKEY!

I played 3 times on Friday and almost died from being so tired. It is so nice to be back into hockey season again. But I really need to wash my gear. I've been playing for a month now and don't always get the time or weather to air out my gear and I was informed by the guy next to me on the bench that I should seriously consider washing my gear because it was seriously making him sick! So its on the deck right now and I gave it some serious Fabreeze action. I might be playing tonight too... we'll see how I feel, how much money I have, and how much of my paper is done.

Also it is just nice to have NHL hockey back on TV. I love watching it. And the Leafs are on a 3 game winning streak so that is good. Everyone jumped on them right away when they lost a few to start but I knew we'd be fine. So that is good.


But now is my, much anticipated I'm sure, review of the "New NHL" as we know it.
Here is what I like:
I like the 2 line passes. I will tell you right now that in my heart of hearts I am a traditionalist but the no red line game is pretty exciting. I like that players are allowed to move up ice without being hooked or held back but players that are too slow to keep up. It allows skilled players to shine and really show what they can do. I like that Goalies gear is regulated so we don't have Garth Snow in his enormous pads filling the whole net because he isn't that quick. And I love the tag up offside that should never have been messed with in the first place.
But I'm afraid there are a few things I don't care for:
First of all Shoot outs are not hockey. No other sport does them except the oh so exciting game of soccer. Hockey is a team sport and should be won or lost as a team. I don't like that Defencemen can't do their job. Now forwards like 80 pound Martin St. Louis can stand in front of the net and there isn't a thing the defense can do because if they touch him, they will get a penalty. It is going to take the intensity out of the game. I also still don't understand what the point of limiting the goalie's play of the puck is all about. Most goaltenders don't do it well enough to even worry about it. In fact, I bet there are more goals when they do play the puck behind the net and so on.

The thing is, the NHL is trying to get people to watch Hockey after wasting an entire year arguing. So they have frigged with the game so it will be more exciting and people will watch. But in reality there was nothing wrong with the game! Remember the 2004 play-offs? If you didn't like it, you don't like hockey! Why would the NHL disrespect its loyal fans, especially those of us who hung in there from the lock out, by messing with the integrity of the game all to cater to fans who DON'T KNOW THE GAME! That is the new target, they want a new kind of fan I guess. But I'm not sure how they accommodate the "new and improved" fan when the whistle blows and no one in the building or watching at home has a sweet clue why the play stopped. Great move.

But hey, like I said, more than anything I'm just glad the NHL is back. If I can sit home and watch the leafs and Don Cherry's Coaches corner on CBC on a Saturday night. I'm a happy man.

I Fought the Law... And I won!

Yes I fought the law... sort of... Let me explain. A few months ago, August 5th to be exact, I was pulled over by Charlottetown's finest. I pulled up to the stop sign by my apartment, where about half an hour earlier I saw someone else pulled over, I saw that I had time to pull out (after stopping) so I did. Then I see the lights flashing in my mirror so I pull over. The officer begins his song and dance but we're in the middle of an intersection so I have to pull around the corner. I end up moving again into a parking lot because he has no idea what to do with my out of province even though I explain that I am a student. He asked me if I knew why I was pulled over and I told him that I had no idea. He says I ran the stop sign and then held me up for almost half an hour getting me to move three times and had no idea what to do with me. Then he says you are getting a ticket for 70 bucks!

Now fast forward to yesterday when I took this issue to court because I did stop at that sign. And even if I hadn't, there was still no need to hold me up that long AND he should know what he was doing. So I ran all over town looking for a parking place, showed up good and early and waited for the worst. But luckily for me my case was "stayed" so I would say the City of Charlottetown had more important things to worry about then prosecuting me for stopping at a sign. So there you have it. Saving me 70 bucks and even more on insurance--because when points go down, insurance goes up--highlights my week already.

Sleeping In

Man l love sleeping in. I have been so busy lately that I've made myself sick. I've been behind and over tired but this morning I decided that everything could wait a couple hours because I needed a rest. There is just something about waking up at 7 and not getting up, but rolling over. Sure there is lots to be done around here. My room has been more than disgusting since before camp started in July, I have more than enough school work to get caught up and start on, Sunday School lessons, and Youth Group prep all need to get done but rest is the priority of this Saturday because if I don't I'll die before I see graduation.

But alas, now it is 4 o'clock and I have yet to accomplish anything. Arg sometimes I wish I could get my rest in without time going by. Oh well, I'm sure I'll have plenty of time for rest when I'm dead.

Off to work I go!