So a couple of weeks ago my bank account reached $0.13.
No big deal, people (especially students) hit 0 all the time, right?
It's not so bad running out of money, it's just a temporary thing, right?
Not if you're unemployed.
I started panicking, worrying that I wouldn't be able to afford my books for school, and a little upset that I wouldn't be able to go out for lunch/dinner as often as I like to (although that I would have gotten over, obviously).
Then somebody awesome who cares about me a lot gave me a little money toward my books, to start me off. I felt so blessed and so loved, and it was awesome receiving this kind of gift! But I was still worried because school books are never cheap, and the money was about half as much as my books had cost me last semester. So I thought to myself, well, "this is an amazing blessing, but God, please provide for me, let me work really hard this week to make the rest of the money to pay for my books." I started just trusting that God would provide for me enough money to cover books.
Something I was reminded of recently is that God exceeds our expectations.
I worked with my mom, ripping up carpets, on tuesday, and made fifty dollars. I went busking friday morning and my partner and I made fifty dollars in an hour and change. Then I got hired to work part-time for a carpet cleaning company.
When time came to buy my books, I was amazed- most of my courses this semester don't have a booklist, and a couple of the books I *do* need are books I already own from other semesters! I stepped into the bookstore with my money in my pocket, and the total price was outstanding-
$40.95.
That's right. I paid next to nothing for books this semester, and all of the extra money I made this week was such a blessing! God provided for me even more than I asked Him to! He gave me enough money to buy lunches, dinners, etc, not just for myself, and to treat myself to some special stuff- like a new game of Dutch Blitz :) And I managed to save a fair chunk of what I made this week as well, to put toward my driving lessons.
God exceeded my expectations, and provided so incredibly!
And now I have a job (sort of) and I'll be tutoring and babysitting again soon. I'll be making enough money to pay for guitar lessons with a professional jazz guitarist, and to save up for things I'll need later on :)
Shoutout to @sharingwithchu, a good friend of mine who sent out a newsletter this week on the theme of God exceeding expectations, and reminded me through that about how amazing His blessings are.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Summer 2011- a Recap
Hey lovely internet people!
So I just got home from spending a week out at Camp Livingstone for Crosstalk Ministries' Senior Youth Camp 2011! And before that, I had told you I was taking a week to visit my grandparents in BC! This is just a quick account of what I have been up to for the last few weeks.
From August 1st to 8th I was out in beautiful British Columbia, visiting my grandfather in Port Alberni and my grandmother in Gibson's. We mostly ate lots of really tasty food and spent a little time with their friends and business partners (my grandfather's a goldsmith) but I think what really stood out for me was just what God was working through in me during that time.
I had applied for the open position of Youth Coordinator at Emmaus Anglican Church, and was obviously the youngest applicant for the job. From the beginning it was clear that my age would be a bit of an issue but the corporation had assured me that it would not affect their decision-making process because they know how responsible I am. Well, while I was in BC, I prayed through it, and had a good talk with someone important to me, and they told me they didn't think I was ready for it. This was one of those moments where I felt betrayed and hurt and isolated, then realized that, actually, they were right! My reaction to their comment was super irrational and I wasn't taking constructive criticism nearly as well as I should have. Further prayer led me to decide I would withdraw my application and continue to serve as a volunteer with the youth group for a little while longer, while God continues to work in me.
Now here's the fun part, where I realize just how amazing God's timing is.
My good friend Josiah Henderson- check out his blog, Jo Apropos, here http://joapropos.blogspot.com/ -had been encouraging me all year to check out Crosstalk Ministries' Senior Youth Camp (google them, they do lots of cool stuff!) and I had been putting it off because I was worried I'd be needed in Montreal if I got the coordinator job. Well, since I withdrew my application, I immediately went and applied, very last minute, not knowing what to expect but definitely feeling called to attend.
This past week has been so incredible for me. I met lots of amazing Christians my age, grew super close to most of them, and had a lot of really intimate moments with God. One thing that really stood out was that the small group material we were using (lessons based around Rob Bell's book "Sex God") were super relevant to the things I'm going through in my life right now. One of the lessons talked about Agape love (or unconditional, self-giving, self-sacrificing love, like the kind God has for us) and that's a concept God's been revealing to me and helping me understand all of this year. So it was just really incredible being in such a neat environment with such neat people learning such neat things that God was already starting to work on in my life!
Brief shoutouts here! Follow @Mikecalo (the speaker from this week's senior camp!), @Youthguy07 (Carl Jones, a very neat guy and former youth pastor) and check out that blog I linked to above for amazing art by an amazing guy (Josiah Henderson)!
Lots of cool stuff coming up in the next little while! Stay tuned.
So I just got home from spending a week out at Camp Livingstone for Crosstalk Ministries' Senior Youth Camp 2011! And before that, I had told you I was taking a week to visit my grandparents in BC! This is just a quick account of what I have been up to for the last few weeks.
From August 1st to 8th I was out in beautiful British Columbia, visiting my grandfather in Port Alberni and my grandmother in Gibson's. We mostly ate lots of really tasty food and spent a little time with their friends and business partners (my grandfather's a goldsmith) but I think what really stood out for me was just what God was working through in me during that time.
I had applied for the open position of Youth Coordinator at Emmaus Anglican Church, and was obviously the youngest applicant for the job. From the beginning it was clear that my age would be a bit of an issue but the corporation had assured me that it would not affect their decision-making process because they know how responsible I am. Well, while I was in BC, I prayed through it, and had a good talk with someone important to me, and they told me they didn't think I was ready for it. This was one of those moments where I felt betrayed and hurt and isolated, then realized that, actually, they were right! My reaction to their comment was super irrational and I wasn't taking constructive criticism nearly as well as I should have. Further prayer led me to decide I would withdraw my application and continue to serve as a volunteer with the youth group for a little while longer, while God continues to work in me.
Now here's the fun part, where I realize just how amazing God's timing is.
My good friend Josiah Henderson- check out his blog, Jo Apropos, here http://joapropos.blogspot.com/ -had been encouraging me all year to check out Crosstalk Ministries' Senior Youth Camp (google them, they do lots of cool stuff!) and I had been putting it off because I was worried I'd be needed in Montreal if I got the coordinator job. Well, since I withdrew my application, I immediately went and applied, very last minute, not knowing what to expect but definitely feeling called to attend.
This past week has been so incredible for me. I met lots of amazing Christians my age, grew super close to most of them, and had a lot of really intimate moments with God. One thing that really stood out was that the small group material we were using (lessons based around Rob Bell's book "Sex God") were super relevant to the things I'm going through in my life right now. One of the lessons talked about Agape love (or unconditional, self-giving, self-sacrificing love, like the kind God has for us) and that's a concept God's been revealing to me and helping me understand all of this year. So it was just really incredible being in such a neat environment with such neat people learning such neat things that God was already starting to work on in my life!
Brief shoutouts here! Follow @Mikecalo (the speaker from this week's senior camp!), @Youthguy07 (Carl Jones, a very neat guy and former youth pastor) and check out that blog I linked to above for amazing art by an amazing guy (Josiah Henderson)!
Lots of cool stuff coming up in the next little while! Stay tuned.
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Wow, I'm awful
Hey again,
So, on the last day of my trip to BC I decided I was going to sign up for Crosstalk Ministries' Senior Youth Camp! Kind of exciting, but also means I will have no internet access until like the 20th of August! And because I've been so busy this week catching up with people, I am probably not going to have time to do another blog post until I get back from camp! So I guess August is going to be a realllly slow month for me here, and I'm sorry about that, but I will definitely make up for it in September with all of that content I've been promising since July.
Cheers!
So, on the last day of my trip to BC I decided I was going to sign up for Crosstalk Ministries' Senior Youth Camp! Kind of exciting, but also means I will have no internet access until like the 20th of August! And because I've been so busy this week catching up with people, I am probably not going to have time to do another blog post until I get back from camp! So I guess August is going to be a realllly slow month for me here, and I'm sorry about that, but I will definitely make up for it in September with all of that content I've been promising since July.
Cheers!
Thursday, August 04, 2011
In BC!
Hey blogosphere,
Sorry about the lack of updates recently! I promise a whole bunch of cool stuff will be coming up this month- videos, music, stories, and the like- but I can't really do much until I get back to Montreal! I am currently visiting with my lovely grandparents in beautiful British Columbia (not to be confused with probably equally beautiful hispanic Columbia, word to my south american brothers) and have somewhat limited access to the interwebs.
I get back August 8th and am excited to bring you new and cool content then! Keep up with me on Twitter and send me a message, would love to hear from you!
Blessings,
Tom
Sorry about the lack of updates recently! I promise a whole bunch of cool stuff will be coming up this month- videos, music, stories, and the like- but I can't really do much until I get back to Montreal! I am currently visiting with my lovely grandparents in beautiful British Columbia (not to be confused with probably equally beautiful hispanic Columbia, word to my south american brothers) and have somewhat limited access to the interwebs.
I get back August 8th and am excited to bring you new and cool content then! Keep up with me on Twitter and send me a message, would love to hear from you!
Blessings,
Tom
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