Surgery!

I dropped my dog Teddy off at the vet's this morning. He's having bladder stone removal surgery. It's a bit worrying, although they say it's a pretty routine surgery.

Here's praying that everything goes well. :) God is good, all the time.

Unloved.

There are days when I feel unloved.

I thought those days were a thing of the past, that I was now so strong in my faith in Christ that I wouldn’t have those self-focused moments anymore: "Does anyone really love me the way I want to be loved?" "Why do I feel so alone?"

I think there will always be hard days. I’ll still struggle with wanting to be loved, and forgetting to seek God for what I desire.

Those days often occur when I’ve lost sight of the incredibly satisfying love God has for us. Those days leave me desperately longing for attention. Sometimes I catch myself striving solely to please others, to gain attention, approval and love. I lose it: my contentment, my peace, my sense of who I am in God. I "lost it" recently, when a guy – an attractive, funny, charming, and considerate guy – stepped into my life.

Have you ever "lost it"? Maybe you have and you just didn’t notice. You find yourself no longer content with where you are and what you have, and you start to long for a boyfriend. Your heart feels empty and you think that he is the only one who can fix your emptiness.

Maybe you won’t believe me when I say that I’ve been there. I have, more times than I’d like to admit.

So there’s this guy. We met and he immediately began to pay extra attention to me. I told myself that he probably wasn’t good for me. He didn’t fulfill some of my major criteria for a boyfriend (i.e. he doesn't love Jesus). But he’s so funny, and sweet, and he likes me...

I knew I was in too deep when he asked for my number, and I tried to justify giving it to him. "It’ll be a nice friendship... I could go for a coffee with him; that doesn’t say serious relationship." Every day I hoped to run into him and looked forward to chatting with him.

I finally recognized that I was putting all my hope into what this guy thought of me. Oh it’s just lovely to converse with someone who appreciates me: who genuinely wants to communicate with me and spend time with me and know more about who I am and what makes me tick. I'm not saying that it's wrong to be friends with members of the opposite sex. BUT it’s not worth it if it’s stealing my heart and my attention from God.

That's what I've learned from this. I didn't give him my number, and I don't plan to go on that coffee date. I know my heart, and that just wouldn't help me one bit.

I need to be reminded...

... that God would never do anything to harm me, physically, emotionally or spiritually. And He would not intend for me to date a guy who would pull me away from the most important relationship in my life: my relationship with Him.

May I stand in the assurance that the only man for me is the one who also loves Jesus with his whole heart.

If you're single now...

If you’re single now and if you’re a Christian and if Romans 8:28 means anything, it means that today you can grow better as a single than you could if you were married. Or God would have you married.

In other words,
there are things that you’re learning now,
there are ways in which you can grow right now,
there are opportunities for service and ministry that are better for you, and for Him, and for everybody around you, as a single person.

- Tim Keller

(From Tim Keller's Sex, Singleness and Marriage sermon series)

Sentiments on the "sexy" hallowe'en costume

I totally agree with Joy the Baker on this one:

"This brings me to a very important point: the slutty bee/nurse/policewoman/fairy/cat/warrior/French maid/girl scout/bomb inspector/hipster/moose/panda bear/zombie/Strawberry Shortcake… is SO PLAYED (major lame). Ladies. We’re better than this. We don’t need to take everyday things and make them slutty. Why!? Why are we doing this!? Did you know that we have the ability and freedom to dress like hussies everyday of the year if we choose? Seriously... Why take the respected and regal bumble bee and turn that into a hot mess? WHY!?
...Don’t be slutty. Slutty on Halloween is DUMB and predictable and DUMB!"

Come to think of it, slutty on any day is dumb.

The worst part of my job

... is that I kill about 20 trees every day with the amount of printing and copying I do.

I have to give a hard copy of my work to this engineer, and that engineer, then it needs to be edited and reprinted 534232222857 times, then printed and handed to this other woman for approval, then printed for my boss, who has to make 23294288 more edits.

I like being environmentally friendly. I don't wanna kill anymore trees. :(

I guess if that's the worst part, that's not all that bad. :)

Dresses!

I love casual dresses. I love how easy it is to slip on a dress in the morning, and I love the way dresses look and feel. They can be worn all year-round (albeit with caution in the frigid Canadian winters). They can be worn for work and/or play. Plus, I just love how feminine they are.
I own a total of one casual dress that I wear on a daily basis. It looks like this one. Sadly, last month my washing machine ripped a small hole near the waist. *Sigh*. My favourite piece of clothing, my default work outfit, my cute little dress. Now it should be tossed, but I love it and can't let it go yet... I sewed up the one-inch hole and wear a belt that discreetly covers the area.

Ever since that little incident I've been looking for a replacement. Boy, is it hard to find cute, affordable and modest dresses and skirts!

Today, I am so excited to have stumbled on this gem of a website. It's called Shabby Apple, and it seems to be a socially-conscious, all-sizes-friendly business. They carry some really cute dresses. The ones I've looked at so far have high necklines, and go to the knee. They are all quite beautiful.

I think a dress is a good investment. Any piece of clothing that can be worn in multiple seasons, is appropriate for work, and transcends fashion trends is a good investment.

Because of some recent events, money is tight. I'm thinking of saving a bit, and purchasing one of those dresses next month. Now to decide which one to spend my hard-earned cash on. :) I welcome any suggestions!