Whistle Pig Wednesday

Whistle what?

Last weekend, the church here hosted a ladies retreat for the local ladies. Aside from the ladies here, several came up from Dillingham. I only made it to a couple of the activities, but I certainly enjoyed what I did attend. I got a chance to visit with the weekend speaker, Cate Morris. I don't even remember what we were talking about when Whistle Pig Wednesday came up. Cate made it up several years ago. It happens every Wednesday, and can be celebrated however you feel. It was created for the time you have nothing to look forward to, giving some light to the week. I have discovered the additional benefit of joy from doing something completely random, like singing off key, laughing for no reason, or making a snow angel.

busy busy!

I got back to PA 2 and a half weeks ago, and haven't stopped moving since. From going to friends' house for dinner and a movie or games to having large groups of people over, I have hardly have time to unpack and get laundry done! I enjoy being busy. I would rather have that then not enough to do though.

In addition to being a social butterfly, I have started helping out with AWANA at church. Its really nice to have something in the middle of the week where I see everyone. One of the local high schoolers wants to start an orchestra. Naturally, I will be leading the cello section. Actually, not only will I be leading it, I will be teaching all the participants how to play cello. I guess 12 years of playing cello qualifies me to teach it? Good... I think I need to get in contact with some of my old teachers.

And everything is in the midst of working full time, upkeeping my apartment, and taking care of a very demanding cat.

ice makes my life interesting...

Right after Christmas, the whole state got a major warm up. For Fairbanks, that means it went from 40 below to 20 below. For Port Alsworth and the Anchorage area (not that they are close, but that they got the same weather and I was in both places to be affected by it) it went from well below freezing to a daytime high of 40 degrees. While the heat wave made new years eve fireworks very pleasant, it made commuting and general movement outside, well, difficult.

I know. Slushy snow does not make ice. However, when you apply a couple days worth of rain to the slushy snow, it makes for a glassy surface of zero traction (remember, the ground is still pretty solid, so it doesn't just melt away into the earth). Not only do you have difficulty moving across a flat surface, you also have puddles collecting in any low lying areas. It was difficult enough maneuvering around the slightest of inclines around Anchorage, but then I got back to Port Alsworth. Have I mentioned that I live on top of a little hill? Its not up the side of a mountain, its just a hill. But now this hill is, like everything else, covered in ice.

After several days of getting used to traction on ice, we got a light dusting of snow. now not only do you have no traction, but you have a lubricant over the top of the ice to make it that much more slick. I was walking to work that evening (helping someone wrap a project up) and I unintentionally started walking through a rather deep puddle. Someone had mentioned earlier that it went over his bunny boots. so I steer to try to get out of the puddle, but my direction change was too rapid, and I felt myself slipping in further toward the middle. From there, an unbalanced application of force occured, ending with me sitting right in the middle of the whole thing! The same person who warned me of its depth was outside saw my headlamp from a distance and couldnt help but laughing at my misfortune.

I probably would have laughed too.

New Year's Resolutions...

Well, this year, my list had 11 points on it. Of that list, I plan on sharing 7 of them. Some are more related than others, so that is why you will see random numbers of the list, and not see other numbers at all. Also are the super secret 12-14. I should probably kill you for simply knowing of those points. However, I don't forsee any of those actually happening by the dawn of 2012, so you don't have much to worry about.

Well, here goes!

1. Spend more time with God. This is always (well, on the years that I actually bother with resolutions) the first on my list. I realize that it isn't defined by any parameters indicating how I should accomplish this goal, which makes it difficult to grade how well I did on this at the end of the year. However, having it listed every year allows me to reflect on the time I do spend with God, and how I need to address my relationship with Him.

Some things I plan on doing to accomplish this year's goal are as follows. I plan on doing more Bible study than just basic reading and devotional thoughts. Instead of clinging to a single verse or phrase, I hope to supplement Biblical reading with other in depth study material: commentaries, studies, etc. I also would like to increase my time in worship. Last spring, a friend and I began pursuing (in Anchorage) a prayer and worship night that I will be working to establish here. Its going to look a little different than the original model we had in mind, but I feel that it will work well in the community. More on that as it develops! The most dramatic increase I hope to see in this department is prayer. I, and many of my brothers and sisters, do not spend enough time in prayer.


7. Spend more time with the youth. I live in a unique community, as I am sure you understand. There is a good sized group (about 6 girls) of middle schoolers that have decided that I am the best thing since online shopping (ok so online shopping is a pretty recent fad. But let me tell you, its THE thing to do out here!). I know that part of their attention comes from me being new in town. They already know everyone else, but this new person must be SO cool, since she wants to hang out with us! Ok, its maybe not that extreme, but I think that's the basic idea. And I remember being that age. I LOVED the attention of the older girls. I remember putting them on par with all my favorite super heros. Its really neat to be able to be that older girl. But don't worry, I won't be wearing any spandex to prove my super powers.

I realize that this is a very important responsibility. These girls are SO easily influenced, and this is the most important time as they begin exploring life for themselves instead of just what mom and dad say. As they have the opportunity to make their faith there own, they need role models in their life to show them how to live, to give them sound advice, and to keep them accountable as Christian women. One wrong word, one piece of misled advice, and I could be sending these girls into a world of hurt. Goodness, how to I avoid that? Step 1: trust the Lord to speak through me. Step 2: refer to point 1 above. The only way to encourage these girls
to grow in the Lord is to immerse myself in God's word. I want these girls to grow in HIS wisdom and teaching, not mine. I want to encourage them with God's love that they see in me, nothing that I do. And I want them to be the cool Godly super hero to their own group of preteens when they are my age.

back to a schedule...

Well, I am back into the routine of work and life. Since that is in place, I will try to get some blog posts together and queued up. A few things topics I will be covering in the upcoming posts, just to pique your interest...

-resolutions! Even though its after the new year, I made the resolutions before the first, therefore they count. I will share one or two per post, and give a little detail as to what they mean to me. Though I won't be sharing all of them, as some are a little more personal than I want to put all over the internet.

-Christmas break stories! I can't think of too many that are very phenomenal, but maybe a few amusing things, some issues for prayer that I encountered, and reflections on things I observed.

-recipes! Everyone loves those!

-More tidbits on Alaska, the weather, work, and bush living! Ok, I realize these are generally less than interesting topics. But I promise to TRY to make it interesting, k?

-So much more!!

Ok, really, I am done now.

going home...

Presents unwrapped, fireworks shot off, shopping done, car locked, and parked for the next few months. Physically, I am ready to go home. After living out of a suitcase for two weeks, I guess I am ready.

Of all the excuses coming to mind of friends, adventures, and activities, I realize once again that I belong in the bush. Not because I am too hardcore for the urban life; we all know that certainly isn't true. I don't belong there because I am an excellent pilot or mechanic. I belong there because its the best place to be prepared for missions.

Well, I should pack up and get ready to head out!