My Date with the Kid

Oh, where to begin! What an incredible experience it was to go to Pittsburgh to a Penguins hockey game! So much fun, so much excitement! I got almost everything I wanted out of the trip. Our seats were AWESOME, Sidney scored a goal, and Pittsburgh won the game 5-1.
The only thing missing was the other half of the reason for choosing this particular game, and that was to also see Vinny Lecavalier who is the captain of the Tampa Bay Lightening. Unfortunately, Vinny fractured his hand and wasn't playing...in fact, he just had surgery on it yesterday. He'll be out for 6-8 weeks. So, that was a little bit of a let down, but in retrospect, it made it much easier to cheer for Pit all the way!!
Our hotel was literally across the street from the arena, so once we got there we stayed put in the downtown area. Pittsburgh is a nice city. We thought the people were great, and would go back in a heartbeat.
But most importantly, the atmosphere was insane. There is nothing like standing and screaming with people by the thousands, pounding the glass, cheering with the strangers beside you....it was really my favourite part of the whole experience.
Would I do it again? Oh YEAH. I am in 15 days in fact! Heading to Dallas to watch the Stars play 2 games! Now that the Pit experience is still fresh in my heart, I'm looking forward to this trip even more!
The epic saga of my hockey life continues,....
Stay tuned.

I'm Seeing Stars....(but I'm sorry, I guess you can't)

Yes, it's that time of year again.

Summer is my favourite season (weather wise), but there is only one thing that I struggle with during that time: NO HOCKEY.

For me, hockey season is the best season there is. And the extra blessing was that it started earlier then usual for me, and in such a special way.

About a month ago, I grabbed my friend Jenna and headed to PEI for the weekend. This weekend was going to be different than my usual visits to PEI because that always includes a long visit with my dear Blinders. This time, it was about hockey....and coming across an article online that I know for sure now, was NOT a mistake.

Charlottetown became home for the weekend to the Dallas Stars. It was on PEI that they were to have their training camp. I know most people don't find that exciting. But when you are me, and your favourite player of your favourite sport plays on that team,...yes dear friends, it's exciting!!

So, I got to watch Brad Richards practice and play hockey with his team....and meet him. Only for a second. I didn't want to monopolize is time with a lame attempt at small talk, so I shook his hand and walked away. I hope my actions were respectful and admirable....for that was my intention. But all in all, it was a great experience, with happenings I'm still reeling over and meditating about. I'm just so amazed that God could take something as simple as hockey and use it as a blessing to me. It really shows that he does care about the little things....even someone's joy in a GAME.

Experiencing what I have so far so early in this hockey season, I know it's just going to get better. And yes, if the Lord wills it, I'm hoping to head to Dallas sometime this season to see them play on their home ice.

Though it's still early (no team has played 10 games yet), it's wonderful to see the Stars have a perfect 4-0 season so far. And Brad is playing his best hockey in years. It does my heart good to know that I saw the start to this back in PEI a month ago. I'm hoping it will lead to a season of hockey that I will never forget.

P.S. I would have posted some pics, but I don't know how to get them off my phone. Sorry!

I See His Blood Upon The Rose

I see His blood upon the rose
And in the stars the glory of his eyes,
His body gleams amid eternal snows,
His tears fall from the skies.

I see his face in every flower;
The thunder and the singing of the birds
Are but his voice-and carven by his power
Rocks are his written words.

All pathways by his feet are worn,
His strong heart stirs the ever-beating sea,
His crown of thorns is twined with every thorn,
His cross is every tree.

-Joseph Plunkett

The Heavens Declare!

Ever since I was a kid, I've had a fascination with the cosmos. Stars, planets and galaxies...all of it is....well, pardon the pun,..ASTRONOMICAL. i've been known over the years to stare at a clear sky on a cool night, and having a hard time walking away.

As a Christian, the sky was always one of those things I never really felt right about studying. Any books you could find were either saturated with evolution or astrology. Well, in reading a recent fictional Christian novel, I found some resources of how the cosmos don't have anything to do with horoscopes. But the stars "speak" of their Creator....including the Birth of Jesus...the Son of God. FASCINATING STUFF.

I've really just started my study on this VAST subject...but if you'd like to experience something on this subject that's a good start, I'd recommend a video called, "The Star of Bethlehem". What this man has to say was so incredible, it blew me away. That God would be so detailed in the birth of Jesus to plan it in the cosmos at the time of creation...what LOVE.

I hope you take the time to experience it. It really makes you think...and thank God for all His extraordinary favour to us.

Some Interesting things about Erin....

Erin....the Green Isle....Ireland.

Here is a list of things you probably didn't know about the Ireland of the Dark Ages.

-Public Education began in Ireland.
-In one generation the people of Ireland mastered Greek, Latin and some Hebrew.
-In this same generation, the Irish language was so pure, there was no dialect.
-The Irish invented a secret language called Hisparica Famina, made up of parts of Latin.
-Ireland was the world's first publisher of books.
It was the Irish priests and druidic bards that preserved books on history and culture while libraries all over the world were being destroyed.
-During the Dark Ages, it was Ireland that shared the light of the gospel to the world. In fact, Ireland has turned out more missionaries then any other nation in time.

Thanks to Linda Windsor, Christian writer of historical fiction, for these green gems of historical facts.

A Little Different

I'm Back!! Although I doubt that many people out in Blog world really noticed I was gone.(:

I have missed sharing on this thing, but I have to admit, I wasn't writing because I felt I wasn't being INSPIRED. Nothing I felt was worth posting was coming to mind.....

Maybe it's because for some reason I thought everything I shared had to be about sometime spiritual and uplifting in some way. I do hope that whatever I post on here is encouraging to people, and after you read it you feel a little happier then you did before. But then I realized that this blog is to share who I really am. That definitely involves talking a lot about God, for He is the one who created me, and made me who I am. But I'm hoping that in sharing things that He has taught me, you can learn too!

God is, and always will be the centre of what I write here. I love talking about Him, learning about Him, sharing about Him. But He is the one who has given me all the different interests to learn about and share with others. I guess by nature I'm somewhat of a teacher. I love knowing things, but to me the best part about knowing something is sharing it with someone else.

So, from here on out, what's posted on here with be from a wide range of different sources. Sports, cultures, travel, recipes, photos, history, music, books, theology...little bits and pieces from many places and people.

Please read and enjoy!