Too busy for Revolution? WhatEVER!

“People are too busy to organize a revolution!”
This is a quote from one of my professors. In context, he was absolutely right – we were talking Marx (who is totally my hero, by the way. Not really, but I like to tell people that) and about how the majority is controlled in society by the minority and all the minority really has to do to change things is to SPEAK OUT and DO SOMETHING about what they do not agree with and about the ways that they are being exploited. This is a valid point.
And it is SO true. People today do think that they are too busy to do anything. People do not have the time that they need to accomplish what they really want to accomplish. People are “too busy” or “don’t have time” to stand up and fight for what they believe in. There are degrees to this: some people make time for certain things that are important while others make time for nothing and allow “the system” so to speak, or whatever system of choice, walk all over them and never do anything to stop it.
And it’s a shame. In Canada especially, we are given so many freedoms and so many rights, but no one ever uses them. It sucks. People need to take a stand more often for what they believe in. Maybe when people all over the place begin using what they have, especially their rights and freedoms, all of the time, it is not going to be such a big deal when one person does it.
So… what is this revolution thing that I am talking about? By definition, a revolution is a radical and pervasive change in society and the social structure or can also be view/defined as a sudden or momentous change in a situation (dictionary.com). What does this mean? It means that eventually, Canadians are going to have to rise and STAND against injustices that are present, not only in OUR society, but in this world. There are many ways that we can take a stand, but the first thing that we have to do is TAKE ACTION. I don’t want to be referred to someone who is “all talk” and someone who takes no action for the things that she says. I hope that someone will hold me accountable for taking action. And the next time I hear someone complaining about something that they feel isn’t right in society, I am going to gently ask them what they are going to do about it. We need to “dance upon injustice” as one of the songs states. I want to be a “dancer”, who “dances” upon injustice, don’t you? That would be amazing. That is a life time aspiration for me, and it always has been.
I certainly do not want to be too busy to organize a revolution. I was a revolution or a revival or revelations, or whatever I can get. I don’t want to be stuck living in a world that is the way that this world is all of the time. It’s not really that good of a place sometimes. Some days you can look at it and agree that it is decent; it’s all right. Some days, I would like to think that I am not even a part of anything that is going on around me. There are always positives and negatives. But I definitely want to live in a society of positives, so I want a revolution – I want those negatives to be abolished and those positives to be emphasized. But the only way that this is ever going to get done is if we stop our busy lives and DO SOMETHING – stand, fight, take action!

SMILE

"Don't cry because it's over... SMILE because it HAPPENED"





Another year at Laurier Brantford is almost over.
I remember how CRAZY HARD it was for me at this time last year. SUPER DEE DUPERLY HARD. I just totally bawled my eyes out (I know, for those who know me now, HARD to believe!)

But then... a VERY VERY VERY wise person told me this quote - DON'T cry because its over, smile because it happened.

And it really helped me! Kind of... AFTER all of the tears, it really helped me! Really! So... I know that a lot of you are graduating, or leaving residence, or moving on to BIGGER and better things. So, just remember what did happen, and the good times that you had, and hold on to that, not dwelling on the fact that it is over.

Remember that if you are not changing you are not growing! And what fun is it to be the same all of the time? Sometimes I think that it makes things a lot easier... but really just makes change, which is going to happen eventually no matter how hard you fight it.... THAT much harder in the end!

Trust me, it was REALLY hard for me to get this last year too! Anyone who was at the residence life banquet will remember me THAT night (and Heather was my cry buddy, ha). Its difficult, but worth knowing in the end!

I love you all and wish you the best of luck for any changes that are happening in your life right now... those changes that just HAPPEN in April of every year when you are this age!

---------- erin

Voice of Truth

By Casting Crowns.
Good Song.
Read the lyrics!

"Voice of Truth"

Oh what I would do to have
The kind of faith it takes
To climb out of this boat I'm in
onto the crashing waves

To step out of my comfort zone
Into the realm of the unknown where Jesus is
And He's holding out His hand

But the waves are calling out my name
And they laugh at me
Reminding me of all the times
I've tried before and failed
The waves they keep on telling me
Time and time again, "Boy, you'll never win!"
"You'll never win!"

But the Voice of Truth tells me a different story
The Voice of Truth says, "Do not be afraid!"
And the Voice of Truth says, "This is for My glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the Voice of Truth

Oh what I would do to have
The kind of strength it takes
to stand before a giant
With just a sling and a stone

Surrounded by the sound of a thousand warriors
Shaking in their armor
Wishing they'd have had the strength to stand

But the giant's calling out my name
And he laughs at me
Reminding me of all the times
I've tried before and failed
The giant keeps on telling me
Time and time again, "Boy you'll never win!"
"You'll never win!"

But the Voice of Truth tells me a different story
The Voice of Truth says, "Do not be afraid!"
And the Voice of Truth says, "This is for My glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the Voice of Truth

But the stone was just the right size
To put the giant on the ground
And the waves they don't seem so high
On top of them lookin' down
I soar with the wings of EAGLES
When I stop and listen to the sound of Jesus
Singing over me

But the Voice of Truth tells me a different story
The Voice of Truth says, "Do not be afraid!"
And the Voice of Truth says, "This is for My glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me (calling out to me)
I will choose to listen and believe-

I will choose to listen and believe the Voice of Truth

I will listen and believe
I will listen and believe the Voice of truth
I will listen and believe
Cause Jesus you are the voice of truth
And I will listen to you, you are-

The Voice of Truth

WINTERFEST!!!!!!

Things that I learned at Winterfest this year…

This was my first winter retreat! I’ve been on one around November and March before, but they were very different. Very not outdoor-sy. Very… boring. And certainly not a lot of snow OR four hours away. And this time, I got the priviledge of going with a group of AMAZING kids (and other leaders) and learning some amazing things.

This is what I learned this weekend (or SOME of the things that were just reinforced again):

1. GOD IS AMAZING. Totally awesome. And HE LOVES us SO MUCH. SO much.
2. Worship God with ALL of your heart, the way that you want to, NO MATTER WHAT EVERYONE ELSE IS DOING. You may be the MINORITY when you begin, but by the end of the weekend, you’ll be part of the MAJORITY. And really, when you are with God, it doesn’t matter which group you are a part of… because you are part of the Body of Christ and we are all on the same team.
3. Prayers are powerful. It does not matter WHO are you praying for or WHO is praying for you… because in the end, they are all praying to GOD, and they have the authority to make powerful declarations. The impact that your heart declarations being spoken out to God can have on the person that you are praying for is something that you might not ever actually realize.
4. God gives revelations when we ask Him too. He’s pretty cool that way.
5. God makes it snow. Snow makes everything amazingly beautiful.
6. Sunrise is prettier than sunset.
7. Walking outside in bare feet in three feet of snow in the morning to take pictures OF the sunrise, IS COLD… and not that smart!
8. A four hour bus trip ON THE WAY to a retreat is FUN without iPods/MP3, etc. On the four hour bus trip HOME when EVERYONE is sleeping, those things would be helpful/useful. BUT we did get creative without them (I spy, veggietales, cranked worship music, and the worship team practice… hahaha… for those who know why THAT’S funny.
9. It doesn’t matter how much you pack… at some point throughout the weekend, everything you brought will be soaking wet.
10. JUST because there is snow, does not mean that it is evenly distributed throughout the area in question. There COULD be a HUGE brick buried only centimeters below the deceiving layer of snow. When you jump on to this from a height KNEES FIRST, it is GOING to leave a rather large and painful bruise.
11. Slide tackling in snow soccer does not hurt near as much as it does in actual soccer.
12. Just because it is a winter retreat, DOES NOT mean that the cabins are going to be cold. BUT when the cabin is hotter than you’ve ever EVER experienced… Open a window for the night.
13. It’s hard to lead cabin devotionals when a) you’re not familiar with the story b) it’s the middle of the night c) a quarter of your cabin is sleeping d) a quarter of the cabin does not belong to your group thus does not care and e) did I mention you don’t know the story you’re teaching about
14. Threatening to take away your special leader name tag is NOT actually going to happen or affect your ability to have fun and hang out with your kids.
15. Telling the kids to shovel snow over the balcony on to a group of other kids who are talking really loud and being really disrespectful, MIGHT not work out. However… In my case, it worked out totally fine. I just recommend pursuing with caution.
16. Sleeping on a school bus could never be comfortable.
17. PLAYING the huge group game is probably more fun than sitting as a road marker in the snow, in the cold, in the night, by yourself, waiting for the kids who are playing the game to find you. BUT if put in this position, building a snow igloo pyramid thing will likely entertain you.
18. No matter what you call something (WINTERfest)… people are going to cancel because of the weather. Imagine that: It’s SNOWING… during WINTERFEST?
19. You may never expect it… but making a comment such as “you are a few cards short of a deck” can be the cause for hours of conversation, explanations, and confusion. Add in “my driveway doesn’t do all the way to the road” and you are SET.
20. Using a luggage bag as a sled WILL NOT ALWAYS work… but will make for some pretty fun videos and pictures.
21. No matter how big and how hard a hill was to get UP… getting down on the snow via sliding, running, sledding, jumping, etc, will make up for the trek.
22. Just because a young teenager is not MEANT to fit through the guard bars on bunk beds doesn’t mean that they can’t try, get stuck, make it through, than be asked to do it all over again for pictures.
23. If you run outside of the cabin in just a towel, your leaders WILL lock the door on you, or otherwise instruct fellow cabin mates to do it for them.
And last… certainly last but NOT least…
24. If you’re told not to bring your cell phone somewhere, you probably shouldn’t bring it. No matter what the advice of the random lady waiting in front of you in line at the grocery store might say.

God did SO much amazing things this weekend. No matter how much fun we did have, the bottom line was that we were there for God. God wanted us to have fun, but we also learned SO much about Him, sang praises to Him with all of our hearts, and allowed for Him to bring revelation. I’ve changed as a result of this weekend and it is amazing to also be able to see God changing in others.