sarah-nade

The east coast of Canada has always been tapping it's foot, to the rhythm of the weather and waves, from bagpipes to white rappers we have it all. As of late, there are a couple of artist which blow me so completely away...I have to share (I have to share with Nate...before he thinks these guys were his idea...like with flogging molly and Sean Murphy...right Nate?)

enjoy!

Rose Cousins:

With Joel Plaskett, opened for Paul McCartney while in Halifax this past July :)

This cover show cases a small portion of the talent:




Meaghan Smith:

Show cased on CBC radio's Vinyl Cafe last winter... blew me away



Classified:
First introduced to his music in university with "The Martimes," which if you haven't heard you should.

Just have to listen to how this guy does it.... so impressive




Hey Rosetta!




Long time friend's band Tomcat Combat:

I could really go on forever.... when it comes to (East Coast) Canadian music....
Jenn Grant, Jill Barber, Matt Anderson, Tom fun band,

Google these people ...if you don't recognize them... I promise you will not be disappointed!

Summer :)

So, as previously mentioned, my father replaced the engine in his ride on lawn mower, to make mowing his property more time efficient. This engine replacement, also makes being present while he is mowing rather hazardous...




There is an audio delay...but I think you can get the picture :)


Lacy and Stew... your wild flower party favors are celebrating your marriage with beautiful colors, and delicate blooms :)









I love summer :)

Grace for the moment

...little confusion in the last entry as to when Nathaniel and myself shall be leaving this continent for another...

Nate is planning on arriving in Nova Scotia Aug 18th ish (which is roughly three weeks from now). Since I am not permitted to enter the United States in any way, shape or form, I will be arranging a flight departing from Canadian soil. Outside of the pesky detail, of breaking immigration laws, both Nathaniel and myself are not interested in the prospect of 13 hours of flying on separate planes (I mean traveling solo on one's honeymoon is crappy enough).

We are hoping to enjoy Nova Scotia and the surrounding area until about September 1st (two years married!!!), at which time we will jump on a plane to Calgary, spend a couple of days with loved ones there, and ship ourselves off to the "land of the morning calm."




(poster found here :) )

In other news...
I've been pondering the topic of grace.... giving, receiving, understanding....

Is grace an acquired taste? Is it a natural ability which seeps out of a person with time, and refinement? Does it get easier? Is it easy for any body? Would it be grace if it were easy?

What is the difference between grace and mercy? Is that an important difference?

Looking at the spiritual virtues of Faith, Hope and Love... I feel confident that I have an understanding of these, which can be made manifest in my daily living, if I am intentional. These are topics which are familiar virtues which were taught to me, outside of the Christian community.

-I had faith my dad would not let go of my bike, when I was testing out my new two wheeler (although he did let go).
-I had hope that I be allowed to stay up late and watch Blossom.

And love! Well love was all around me, in my family, in music, in movies and stories and well there was Valentine's day. Love was an easy concept to grasp, but grace, I struggle with grace.

When I was small, and Stewart and I would be looking for eggs on Easter morning, my mother told me is a small voice, "leave some for your brother to find." Well, that seemed entirely unfair as I had eyed them first, but to please my mother, and my brother I would leave those discovered treats for his small hands to find...what seemed like hours later. That wasn't called grace, that was called "he's younger, be nice," or "share,"...but not grace.

Honestly, I don't think I really heard the word used in a sentence until I was about fifteen, and I was returned home in the back seat of a cop car for under age drinking. My displeased, but retrospectively, very composed mother quickly informed me I had broken her trust. I was not given punishment, but rather a "grace period." From that point forward I associated grace with learning. In my head, grace was the undeserved punishment free space, where I could learn about my mistakes, and do better next time. To be fair, I haven't been delivered to my home or any other home by cop car since ;)

Grace? Turns out I could receive it.

As a new teenage Christian, the hot word in my life was "forgive." I was forgiven, I should forgive. I was thankful for forgiveness, and was excited to sincerely forgive- but offer grace..No one asked for grace.

Until now.

From what I can understand, grace is receiving something good one does not deserve, and mercy is not receiving punishment for which one deserves.

I can use these two words in a sentence to show I understand them:

The United States Border Patrol did not offer grace nor mercy to the Rutherford-Spinney case in September of 2007.

:)


I love grace and mercy, in fact, I would call myself a pro-grace and pro-mercy kind of gal... but believing something and acting on that belief are two entirely different things.

Why can't I offer grace?


Okay... so do we needs the spiritual virtues to offer grace? Do we need love and hope and faith to offer grace? I think so.

If someone is not able to offer grace, is it because one of those virtues are missing? I think I'll have to have coffee with my creator over this one...an expert on these matters.


How sweet the sound...to receive grace. I would bet it's equally amazing to give it.

Gwangju

With some prayer, patience and the determination to not spend our next anniversary apart, we have decided to accept a one year contract in Gwangju, South Korea, beginning September 14th of this year.

This all comes with mixed emotions. To me, it sort of feels like I am back at square one....like someone has pressed repeat, or there is a scratch in my record :)

Wasn't I just returning from wonderful South Korea, to be with my Nathaniel?

Oh the wondrous things God has for us, and the invaluable lessons learned. Knowing that, a small part of me looks at the road which leads me back to Korea and asks: why? I guess I will have to spend the next year figuring that one out.

There was always a sense of urgency and panic attached to my adventures... well more specially attached to the plans associated with my adventures. Before now, I definitely was defined by my ability to perform, and not the content of my character, and I am very much interested to see how my Mary Vs. Martha translates into this experience. I think I will be forced to laugh, as I am being placed in an all boys middle school ;) This should be good.

Nathaniel and I have been offered a shared 2 bedroom apartment in the City of Gwanju, a metropolis of Seoul (welcoming all visitors!!!). We both will be working in Middle Schools as English teachers, however, I am sure Nathaniel will find someway to be involved in soccer. The city itself is not one I have visited, but sounds really wonderful. I was really fortunate with my last placement, to have a large and beautiful mountain directly behind my house, and it appears this time around, we will be able the fruits of the Korean mountain ranges, with city conveniences of city life (AKA coffee shops...holla!)

The most exciting part about all of this is:

Our journey of separation is over :) and Gwangju has a tomato festival? (high pitched question) This is going to be hilarious! The blogs can only get more interesting from here on in...right :)

As for our education? Nathaniel wrote his LSAT exam and was satisfied with his score, enough so to apply for law school for the 2010 fall school year, and the hope is that I will be able to return to the US and my studies at that time. We do plan to return to Los Angeles, when this all blows over. Perhaps my first border crossing onto US soil will be in Hawaii? That would make a scary situation a little less painful eh?

If you are planning on getting married or having babies could you do so, in Hawaii? It would be much more convenient for us :)

Here is where we are... 23 days until we are reunited. Not reunited for a week, or a month... but for always :) Exhale....

:)




Plus



Equals




Let's see how that math holds up when we decide to have children :)

Update

Here is some "new" information:





Dear M. Spinney:



On 07/16/2009 you, or the designated representative shown below, contacted us

about your case.


The status of this service request is:



Your case is currently under review. You should receive a decision or notice of

other action within 60 days of the date of this letter.


If you have any further questions, please call the National Customer Service

Center at 1-800-375-5283.

94.1 East Fm

In grade eight I was escorted to the grade nine prom, by a close friend, who dreamed of being a professional wrestler. His mom drove myself, himself, Andrew Isenor and Andrew's date to dinner at Mexacali Rosa's, where he presented me with my lolly pop corsage. Ryan wrestles in a provincial wrestling circuit here in Nova Scotia, and apparently has his own radio show.... as I was driving with Mader on the way home from my mothers tonight. A wrestling radio host... of course! I love it :)

Here is a selection from his program I quite enjoyed from a mister Joel Plaskett: Through & Through& Through

Come Home

This blog is dedicated to all you roaming Nova Scotians (you know who you are), in spirit and in driver's license, to return to your motherland and enjoy a sunset with those who love you.

This blog may or may not be a tool in the game of persuasion, subtly playing on those venerable feelings of jealousy, that twinge, when you see the bliss filled days which can be had in this beautiful province.


Warning: The following may cause spontaneous packing...

Here are the top ten reasons why everyone I love should live here:

10. We have pirates err.... tall ships



Lots of them:


9. Our Pirates are friendly


8. Our traditions are timeless :)



7. There are no rabbits eating our sunflowers....instead there are children eating sea creatures







6. We'll feed you....candy



5. We are both a relaxed and creative people


4. Beautiful...


3.We smile...without ceasing






2. The sky always looks like this:








And the number why reason why everyone should move home......

All of our beverages... are packaged like this:

A friend of mine lost his wife today to cancer.

...those left behind...the unspeakable grief, my friend and his three small children. How words fail in those moments and perhaps the only thing which could express such a deep sorrow, would be falling to ones knees and ripping ones tunic, face to the sky screaming. How do we mourn and comfort, when words fail?
My mind ran between my friend, his family, their children, and then all I could think...the only thing I could make of it, was that she now was with God. Beautiful, sure and resting...the image made me weep.

I have encountered death, young death at that. I have questioned God on these matters. When Trevor died, it was sudden, media filled, tragic and so much more than that. To this day, I question his final thoughts, and placed my hope in the hands of God, that Trevor would find love and rest beyond life. I can't be certain.

I did not, do not know this woman who died, but I know of her courage, integrity and the legacy she has left. She, without a doubt, this very morning passed over into the hands of God. How glorious, what peace, to know where she rests.

I called a dear friend of mine, who has herself lost a number of family members to cancer, and we talked about the courage it must take to work through this battle. We talked about what it means to be a warrior, and what it means to understand one's condition without giving up. This woman, who passed on this very day, knew her condition, and we all prayed for a miracle. This woman chose a path of treatment which would allow her to be with her family, and walk alongside her three small children. This young woman was not healed, but as Erin and I discussed today, prayers were answered, because in her hurting condition, God gave her the wisdom, courage and emotional strength to love her husband and their children, while her body checked out. Her life was the miracle.

un booked... de-faced?

I quit facebook.

I was thinking about the time I was pouring into technology, and the time I was pouring into people in the real, and the time I was giving to God, and the math was all wrong.

Now I do get a small "out" on this front, as key players in my life, can only be contacted via technology, that is if I would like to avoid jail time and other fun pass time activities. However, still too much facebook- and I am now "disconnected."

Odd feeling really. I mean, I don't exactly consider my self technologically dependent, well I didn't. I am not the girl who needs electricity, flat irons, or TMZ updates (but I know what a TMZ update is...). In fact, to the aggravation of those in my life, I do not carry a cell phone, honestly I do not care to....but facebook, I was a frequent user. Since the departure from facebook, my dependency has become obvious... find myself picking up my computer to do my rounds... you know what I am talking about. The email, facebook, blog, perhaps bank, sport scores, news rounds. The internet laps we run, the laps which do not improve cardiovascular health and tend to absorb hours of time. Well, I do my rounds, and without thinking, have typed in facebook, the way you punch in your best friends phone number when ordering pizza.


Anyways... today was facebookless day 2, and instead of sitting on facebook I went on a glorious walk which lead me into a large field. I stood in the middle of this field and turned a complete circle, taking in the big Alberta sky from every angle. Bright blue with fluffy cloud, ominous black with streams of rain spilling on to the horizon...and then in the middle of it all a seven colored rainbow arching into the sky. Me and the rainbow in the field. I counted the colors. I looked away, and back again. I tried to find a path which would lead me towards the rainbow, so I could keep on admiring it's magic. A jaw dropping experience.

One of my favorite authors expresses this feeling of wonder so perfectly:

"They say that every snowflake is different. If that were true, how could the world go on? How could we ever get up off our knees? How could we ever recover from the wonder of it?"


Can you imagine if I missed the rainbow?

Facebook 0 God 1

I want to move into this store: Anthropologie

And sit and enjoy the beautiful colors and designs that surround me. This may be as close as I will ever get to owning any of these items, as if you peruse this site, these items are priced....

When I first moved to Pasadena I stumbled upon this store. I was sure that I had not seen a more beautiful collection of colors designs and ideas. I bought one small bowl, wrapped it in paper and carried it home to my 300 sq foot apartment. Sitting on my air mattress I deliberated as to where I shall place my treasure (a funny thing because I only had two potential surfaces for displaying my new accessory, two surfaces that is, besides the floor). It was lovely, and delicate and blue, on this day it was much more than a pretty bowl. I sat in my small room and I poured my domestic dreams into this little blue bowl, quietly hoping that one day my home would hold many loved ones, and perhaps beautiful bowl for each of them.

It stormed today. Calgary and all it's cowboy dress up took shelter as the rain and hail threw itself onto street ways, sidewalks and my baby sunflowers. I sat inside with my tea (I love rainy days with tea!) and soaked in the smells of green leaves and grape seed. I hoped my sunflowers were having an equally enlightening experience, although I was pretty sure that hail was not their friend. Tough little sunflowers :)

As I was removing the tea bag, I noticed the tag, which read "Travel light, live light, spread light, be the light."

I could not have said it better myself. Well, maybe ... reflect light.

I will be in Calgary 2 months this week. I am going to head NS way for a while, collect papers, kiss my family, be still and dream a little. I think I'll move into a tent in my dad's yard, and enjoy the smells of summer, via a tent window. Home?

It's important to travel light, on so many levels. I would still like to have a couple more bowls, and a shelf to out them on :)

space to think

Taking some....

Summer 2005 I signed a contract which would place me in South Korea, for twelve months. The only thing I knew about Asia at that time, was that it was the birthplace of Chinese food. I had also come to the conclusion that Asia was a place filled with industrious/adventurous people, as there was a Chinese food restaurant in the small and excluded town of Dryden, Ontario. Actually that's not entirely fair, my understanding of Asia also extended itself to gruesome images of war, compliments of Hollywood.

I was nervous, excited, but mostly nervous. I had known of others who had trundled off on similar adventures and had returned home in one entire healthy piece. This was going to be OK. Right..? Of course.
About three days before I was scheduled to ship off, the history channel aired an exclusive documentary on the activities of North Korea. Well crap..that was intimidating. Good thing the war is over, nope...turned out.. not over...(who taught me history???). If that were not enough to spook my already frightened self, CNN started spouting off information on the nuclear activity arising North of my new home. I may be needing that Missile defense program...

Being quietly concerned, not sharing this fear openly with anyone, I contacted my recruiting agency and sheepishly asked about the going-ons of North and South Korea. He assured me that all was well in the world. As it turns out, media can be misleading (who knew?) and local newspapers tend to be most accurate. Local news paper reports a festival celebrating Kimchi... :)

After being in the country for about three months, I received a frantic phone call from my mother, where she strongly encouraged me to catch the next boat home. Strange. She had heard that there was crazy stuff going down on the Korea peninsula, and well it was all over the news! I look out my window, sun is shining, and there was a pleasant breeze rustling the leaves and sounds of children playing on the playground. Horrid environment really. My reality, was not her perception of my reality.

I know the picture she had in her head, the one where the city streets are lined with swat teams, as smoke fills the air, and people not speaking your tongue scream out into the masses searching for lost loved ones, fearing that, that body may be the person they are seeking. Terrifying. Global. Televised. Real. Always Accurate?

Perhaps not. (Sadly...the horrors in our world tend to go un televised, un reported ...Rwanda, Uganda, Sudan and the Congo :( )

I bet you, as a reporter, it is challenging to do your job accurately. Elaborating makes all the best stories, and we are a fear living, loving group us North American types. Fear sells? Well I don't know about that, but what I do know is that in all my mother's stories, my siblings and I are the cutest, smartest and most lovable in the bunch. Bias. Love.

It's hard to tell a story..well that's not true. It's hard to recount an event accurately and unbiasedly. It is difficult to report. Honestly, that is why I spent 4 of the last 6 months hiding out, while living at home. How does one report?

It's that very thing that impresses/depresses me about the Christian faith and it's survival. It's story has been told, and told and retold. It's been transcribed, translated, and translated again. It has rolled off the tongues of those who personally know God, and those wish they did...and it keeps on going.

Shocking. Impressive. Timeless. Not surprising. Life giving and life taking.

It's the life taking part I have always wrestled with. How can something which is rooted in love, be manipulated into something ugly.... how does that happen? Things added to make the message more comfortable. Things taken away, twisted, manipulated to support anti-love activities. Accurate story telling is difficult...especially when the story can never truly be accurate. I've made love look bad. CNN makes Korea look bad. Thank goodness for grace, and that God is bigger than the story.

I finished reading an awesome book tonight. The author said something, which I have decided needs to be written on post-its all over my house (ha! what house?), well over my car...and burnt into my heart. A great standard for story telling, and rule of thumb for understanding God's face.


"If the gospel isn't good news for everybody, then it isn't good news for anybody."


:)
s