one day is better than none

Today it was finally warmer. It was 60ºF and in the sun it felt amazing. Previously, such a temperature would have chilled me. Now, providing it is accompanied by a clear sky of uninterrupted sun, that temp has me throwing on shorts and finding a place to bask! That's exactly what I did today. Since I have piles of reading for my summer courses, I sat outside reading: first on our patio (I actually got tan lines on my legs!) and then at the beach. Unfortunately, its a bit more brisk with the breeze down by the water—but I still enjoyed a barefoot walk and that was fairly joyous. Good thing I soaked up the sunshine, though. Apparently today was a one off and temps are dropping back down to the fifties, with rain dominating the weather for the next two weeks. All the more reason to be grateful and cherish today—one day is better than none.

lunching ladies

Just a quick pic of a handful of my classmates—everyone's schedules around school are pretty disparate but this particular collection of ladies and I manage to convene over lunch most Wednesdays:)

flouncy trees

Vancouver seems to have resolutely thawed at last, and spring is in... well, the trees, actually. Not so much the air. Its still typically between 45ºF and 50º—not a vast improvement from the winter. There is starting to be some warmer days though, and it gives me hope. Today it was a balmy 56ºF. Anyhow, at least the trees have managed to hold up their end of the whole spring thing. They are all aflounce with pink and white blossoms. Flouncy, floofy—no sense of proportion—they are almost impossible to take seriously. And this is"...how God clothes the grass of the field." Beautifully. Lavishly. Abundantly. Gratuitously. So..."will he not much more clothe you, you of little faith?" (Matt. 6:30)

Flouncy trees

More flounciness

Flouncy trees at my college

Flouncy trees on my street

Flouncy trees by the beach

This gratuitous festooning of the so recently bare branches is a delightful change from their skeletal winter frames. Welcome, flouncy trees!

3,500 pages later...

Its almost the end of term. We celebrated at a banquet last night. Just a few classes left to attend this week— and a final exam for my History of Christianity course on Thursday...and my first term at Regent will be behind me! I looked over my syllabi for the semester tonight and out of curiosity added up my required reading from the last three months: approximately 3,500 pages. This varied from classic novels to scientific articles, and from historical documents to theology textbooks. What's scary is this doesn't even include an account of what I actually spent a great deal of my time reading: all the material I used for my research papers! Piles of library books. An untold number of pages swallowed up in the sea of research, never to be tallied. So essentially, I'm saying I've done a fair amount of reading in the last few months! I'd say I'm ready for a break, but I am not really going to take much time off as I am starting a summer course next month. There is a heavy reading requirement for that and they suggest pre-reading... which means yes, I am currently in the early stages of exactly that! Crazy, I know.

Also,  praise the Lord for his provision! I have begun a part time job, two shifts a week in the Regent College communications department. I am training to write and post for various Regent online platforms and other publications, as well as managing content for several parts of the college's website, and doing a variety of other tasks to assist the Communications team. I've been really blessed to work with them, and am grateful for the opportunity to expand my writing skills in some practical ways, and to have a partial income to help my ongoing transition from missions support. Thank you again to all my supporters who have generously aided me in this transitional phase of my life and ministry journey—I'm so grateful for your commitment to me in this time.