i'm loving this song! so fun!

"Because of the Lord's great love, 

we are not consumed, 

for His compassions never fail. 

They are new every morning; 

great is Your faithfulness." 

~Lamentations 3:22-23

I have learned that I like crab more than lobster. This place was the bomb!

My mommy making her local food from Tianjin! So yummy :)

Learning to Live Fully

For the past month, a few girls and I have been meeting once a week to go through a book called One Thousand Gifts. As we've been going through it, I'm reminded of the importance of thankfulness. I think being thankful is something that is so easily overlooked or taken for granted, but seriously everything we have, everything we see, feel, love and are, are all gifts from God. In the book the author brings out a pattern in scripture. It's always there, but we often just look past it. Before everything Jesus did, before every miracle that took place, thanks was always given first. Learning to live fully I think has to do with being in your present situation no matter what it is and being able to be thankful.

There was a crazy storm that happened yesterday in Waterloo. The rain was literally coming down sideways. I'd never seen something like it before. A bunch of trees were struck down including the one on our front lawn. I'm thankful that tree was there otherwise our house would've been struck. A perfect hole was made in one of the branches and part of the tree fell but not onto our house. It's crazy to think how perfect it was. A cm to the left or right and our house would've been hit. Even with the power outage yesterday, it didn't hit Mikey's until 8pm allowing us to still do business for the day.

I'm reminded of the power of God too. Men want to be able to predict and control everything. We want to know what will happen next and plan out our lives but everything is from God. We are where we are and have what we have because God has chosen to give it to us. The storm happened and died in a blink and it's another beautiful day again in Waterloo. Let's try to learn living our lives fully, being thankful in even the smallest of things :)

BTW....

I got into photojournalism at Loyalist!

I found out on Thursday that I got accepted and they had only received my application a week before that. Hand of God? I think so. It's been such a long ride coming to this point. I had thought about applying to this program last year. Photojournalism was something that I thought would be super cool to do...but only to dream about. I never thought to pursue it or make it a reality.

At Urbana this past Christmas, I heard really clearly from God that I needed to pursue my passion and interest in photography and media. I had always been scared to (and still am) because I feel like it's tied so closely to what I enjoy, who I am, how I see things or express myself. I realized though, that this passion and talent is something that is given from God and like the story of the talents in the Bible, I can't just hide it under the rug or leave it on the shelf, I have to invest it for God's kingdom.

Applying to photojournalism came really randomly. My friend who is in this program at the moment had come up to Montreal to shoot an event. We met up for breakfast and as she was telling me about it, I realized that this was something I wanted to do. I love stories and believe that stories are super powerful. In photojournalism, I'd be able to tell stories through my photography! Even though it was past the early deadline, I decided to apply anyway. I think getting accepted so quickly is a blessing and sign from God? (I also have this pattern of applying to things past the deadline and then pursuing it....God has a sense of humour haha)

I'm still looking to see how God can use me for his kingdom in this aspect. It makes me nervous thinking about it because there are going to be so many risks to take, challenges to overcome and lots of areas to grow in. I also have not been in a secular setting for a long time but i'm excited about how God will use me. Please pray for me as I go into this next area in my life. There are so many uncertainties and ambiguities...it's also the first time where I won't be in intentional community. I'm scared and excited all at the same time and because of that, I feel like i'm on the right path haha

Time to get 5 jobs this summer! Everything is so expensive. I wish that a new lens or camera body would just fall into my lap by divine intervention...haha it's possible :P I need to trust God even in the finances. He has led me this far and will continue to be leading me :)

It's APRIL!

I can't believe it! Where has all the time gone?! I feel like March just flew by. Here's a mini glimpse of a bit of my March :)

When my sister visited:

My first time at a Sugar Shack (!) :

Lots of sugar and lots of food. I had food coma the whole day hahahah

Harusi:

I spontaneously decided to go to an African culture show with my housemate and some McGill students. It was fun. I need to do more spontaneous things.

Cherilyn's Birthday:

We walked to La Petite Cuillere (my fave cafe), all the way up St. Laurent/ Parc and to Jean Talon for dinner at a delicious Indian restaurant! It was a long but nice walk. We discovered several vintage and antique shops along the way! We also walked by many cafes that I would like to check out!

Where I am now: 

hehe...I discovered this cafe by mistake. It was cuz La Petite Cuillere was closed. I really really like it! It's hidden and super cute! It reminds me of this cafe my friend and I had discovered in Florence. It was literally a hole in the wall that opened out into a super cool cafe! This is kind of like a hole in the wall too. You would never know this existed just by looking outside. Heh heh. I feel like i've found a gem!

Orange Julep:

I ate in an orange yesterday too. Literally. puahahaha they are famous for their oj and apparently there's raw egg in it....no idea haha. I liked it though. It tasted like a melted creamsicle :)

hehe just cuz I love them and always will :D I did a BSB music video marathon with 2 of my housemates. It was great. We went from oldest to newest and watched them change through the years haha I loveeee them! :P

Hope you all had a wonderful March! It's April and it's starting to feel like Spring. It's also the first day post Easter! Have joy :) We have hope because He is risen! I'm gonna make my last month in Montreal count!