as I sit lazily in a quiet, empty house

I received The Message from Corrie for Christmas. I remember her reading this chapter to me as we lay in bed a while ago. Today as I sit lazily in a quiet, empty house I compare it to the NIV version:

Psalm 73:
NIV and The Message- An Asaph Psalm

1 Surely God is good to Israel,
to those who are pure in heart.
1 No doubt about it! God is good—
good to good people, good to the good-hearted
2 But as for me, my feet had almost slipped;
I had nearly lost my foothold.
2 But I nearly missed it,
missed seeing his goodness.
3 For I envied the arrogant
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
3 I was looking the other way,
looking up to the people
4 They have no struggles;
their bodies are healthy and strong.
4 At the top,
envying the wicked who have it made,
5 They are free from the burdens common to man;
they are not plagued by human ills.
5 Who have nothing to worry about,
not a care in the whole wide world.
6 Therefore pride is their necklace;
they clothe themselves with violence.
6 pretentious with arrogance,
they wear the latest fashions in violence,
7 From their callous hearts comes iniquity;
the evil conceits of their minds know no limits.
7 Pampered and overfed,
decked out in silk and bows of silliness.
8 They scoff, and speak with malice;
in their arrogance they threaten oppression.
8 They jeer, using words to kill;
they bully their way with words.
9 Their mouths lay claim to heaven,
and their tongues take possession of the earth.
9 They’re full of hot air,
loudmouths disturbing the peace.
10 Therefore their people turn to them
and drink up waters in abundance.
10 People actually listen to them—can you believe it?
Like thirsty puppies, they lap up their words.
11 They say, "How can God know?
Does the Most High have knowledge?"
11 What’s going on here? Is God out to lunch?
Nobody’s tending the store.
12 This is what the wicked are like—
always carefree, they increase in wealth.
12 The wicked get by with everything;
they have it made, piling up riches.
13 Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure;
in vain have I washed my hands in innocence.
13 I’ve been stupid to play by the rules;
what has it gotten me?
14 All day long I have been plagued;
I have been punished every morning.
14 A long run of bad luck, that’s what—
a slap in the face every time I walk out the door.
15 If I had said, "I will speak thus,"
I would have betrayed your children.
15 If I’d have given in and talked like this,
I would have betrayed your dear children.
16 When I tried to understand all this,
it was oppressive to me
16 Still, when I tried to figure it out,
all I got was a splitting headache…
17 till I entered the sanctuary of God;
then I understood their final destiny.
17 Until I entered the sanctuary of God.
Then I saw the whole picture
18 Surely you place them on slippery ground;
you cast them down to ruin.
18 The slippery road you’ve put them on,
with a final crash in a ditch of delusions.
19 How suddenly are they destroyed,
completely swept away by terrors!
19 In the blink of an eye, disaster!
A blind curve in the dark, and—nightmare!
20 As a dream when one awakes,
so when you arise, O Lord,
you will despise them as fantasies.
20 We wake up and rub our eyes…Nothing.
There’s nothing to them. And there never was.
21 When my heart was grieved
and my spirit embittered,
21 When I was beleaguered and bitter,
totally consumed by envy,
22 I was senseless and ignorant;
I was a brute beast before you.
22 I was totally ignorant, a dumb ox
in your very presence.
23 Yet I am always with you;
you hold me by my right hand.
23 I’m still in your presence,
but you’ve taken my hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will take me into glory.
24 You wisely and tenderly lead me,
and then you bless me.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
25 You’re all I want in heaven!
You’re all I want on earth!
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.
26 When my skin sags and my bones get brittle,
God is rock-firm and faithful.
27 Those who are far from you will perish;
you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.
27 Look! Those who left you are falling apart!
Deserters, they’ll never be heard from again.
28 But as for me, it is good to be near God.
I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge;
I will tell of all your deeds.
28 But I’m in the very presence of God—
oh, how refreshing it is!
I’ve made Lord God my home.
God, I’ telling the world what you do!

So similar, yet so different.

My Life List

Things that will take dedication:
1. read a book a week for at least a year
2. become ambidextrous
3. learn guitar
4. learn to read music well
5. keep a valid CPR certificate
6. become fluent in at least one other language
7. read the whole bible
8. live in another country for at least a year
9. learn to play drums
10. complete a post secondary education
11. to fit a pair of my jeans from grade 12 when I am 30
12. be a vegetarian for a month
13. learn all 193 countries

Things I’ve always kind of wanted to do:
14. get defined abs
15. run a five minute mile
16. learn to type properly
17. shave my head
18. eat a pound of bacon
20. go bungee-jumping
21. learn how to walk on my hands
22. do ten chin-ups
23. own a monkey
24. donate blood
24. get married and have at least one child
25. back pack across Europe
26. go to a Downhere concert
27. volunteer at a seniors home
28. ride in a hot air balloon
29. have my dad read me Narnia one last time
30. give birth completely naturally
31. go to a movie alone
32. memorize the books of the bible
33. climb a palm tree
34. dive the 10 meter
35. read Moby Dick
36. do the splits
37. learn to French braid my own hair

Things I might not accomplish:
38. never be over 150 lbs
39. bike from BC to MB
40. learn Fencing
41. get a hole in one
42. get my pilot license
43. be in a movie
44. find Kayla O’kelly
45. see the 7 natural wonders of the world
46. volunteer in India for a month
47. feed a giraffe a carrot in Africa
48. travel through northern Canada
49. cross the ocean on an Ocean Liner
50. travel Australia and New Zealand
51. be somewhere no one has ever been
52. ride in a horse carriage
53. see live polar bears up close
54. go to folk fest every year
55. sleep in a bed with all my sisters when I’m 50
56. go kayaking with whales
57. meet a Canadian celebrity

Things I really want to do now that I’ve made this list:
58. stay up 72 hours (3 days)
69. not shave my legs for a year
60. cook a three course meal
61. learn to juggle
62. hang glide
63. skydive
64. Try not speaking for a whole day
65. walk in the rain naked
66. sleep outside with no tent
67. walk through a desert
68. watch 10 movies in a day
69. make a quilt from important things in my life
70. build an igloo
71. go to a fortune teller
72.walk though a water fall
73. take belly dancing lessons
74. learn the Greek alphabet
75. break a nalgene bottle
76. go on a canoe trip for a summer (4-6 weeks)

Random things I want to do
77. see Justin’s transformer sticker on the Eiffel Tower
78. grow my hair to my waist
79. sell a piece of my art
80. speak in my church
81. never own a cell phone
82. fix a car
83. drive on the other side of the road
84. work a 50 hour week
85. learn how to surf
86. learn to sail
87. ride an elephant
88. learn to scuba dive
89. learn to do snowboard tricks
90. learn to wake board
91. drive a race car
92. go white water rafting
93. participate in a triathlon
94. sleep in a tree house
95. own a scooter
96. have a 30 min shower
97. have or become a mentor
98. own a house
99.weave a basket
100. do the polar dip

On My Mind

1. I defiantly should not be doing this right now, I have to finish my life list and write half a paper all due tomorrow.
2. I still don't know what I'm getting everyone for Christmas, and those whom I do know I haven't gone out and bought them yet. I should probably get on that.
3. I don't want to be here, I want to be at my cottage, where my parents are. But my dad didn't want to wait a few days so I could go with them, and he didn't think it feasible to take me out of school for two days. I am not very happy about either one of those decisions.
4. While I was making my life list I thought I'm never going to get all of these done. I've always seen myself having a relatively plain life, not boring, but just getting a job and settling down. But tonight I realized that not what I have to do, I don’t have to work around my job, it is possible that I can have my job work around my life.
5. I wanted to move in with Corrie for a month, just to see what it would be like. I would pay half the rent, buy half the food, pay half the phone and internet bill. She doesn't think it’s such a great idea. I just want to experience what it would be like to be independent for a little bit. I don't want to move out of my house forever or anything, I wouldn't even bring my bed. It probably won't happen though, I just thought it would be kind of interesting.
6. Oh no, if I start six I'll have to go on to ten, do I really want to do this? These next few thoughts may be a little bit weak.
7. I have been thinking of starting up running again. I just don't really want to because last time I did my knees really hurt. But maybe I'll try going for some time soon, I'm just always so busy though; homework (blogging) tonight, and work. TYN tomorrow, I'm working Wed, and on Thursday I like to watch Survivor and ER, but it would be possible for me to fit it in there. It's just the question of how bad do I want to go?
8. Don and I planned a mini snowboarding trip on Sunday. That’s right we are turning skipping church to go snowboarding. I'm super excited though. I only was able to go once last year. Also my friend is letting me borrow her snowboard so I'm saving myself about 30 bucks!
9. My friend from school (the same one who’s lending me her snowboard) and I decided to become ambidextrous. So from Friday last week until Christmas Break we are writing with our left hand at school. I thought it would be harder than it is, it's actually kind of fun, and I look forward to taking notes and see if I can keep up. I actually wrote a Physics test on Friday with my left hand, it was pretty messy.
10. Last but not least, Sage has sadly passes away. I don't know what was wrong with her. I picked her up on Sunday and she was cold, soon after she died. I was more angry than sad though because I'm pretty sure a hamster should live more than 3 weeks and my dad defiantly won’t let me get another one now. I think I will actually take the receipt back that was not a very well spent $6.77 if you ask me. I feel ripped off.

From now 'till Christmas

Everyday Eric comes to pick up Kim and drive her to school, and sometimes another girl drives her car to our house where she parks it in our driveway for the day and also gets a ride with Eric to save on gas money. So today when I was shoveling my driveway I thought wouldn't it be nice to get dropped off at your car after a long day of school and all the snow had been brushed off and the windows and headlights had been scraped off. All you had to do was start it up, wait for a minute or two for it to warm up and then drive away. So after I finished shoveling our driveway, I went into our van and got the scrapper and did it, then this simple act of kindness got me thinking. Why not, from now 'till Christmas do one simple, nice thing for another person each day. It could be as simple as making Kim’s lunch in the morning to making supper for my mom so she can sit down and read a book instead of slaving away. I thought it was a good idea. Why not? It’s Christmas and I’m in a generous mood.