Tagged in Fours

I've been tagged by the home maker:

Four jobs I've had:
- Dance instructor/choreographer
- Singing teacher
- Pilates instructor
- Gap sales attendant

Four places I've lived:
- Prince George, BC
- Penticton, BC
- Calgary, AB
- Toronto, ON

Four vacations I've taken: (I haven't had four vacations, so I'll just mention some trips I've taken.)

- Cuba (our honeymoon)

- Scotland (This was a singing audition for a masters voice program in Glasgow...I didn't get it, but my brother and I had fun touring around Scotland.)

- Austria/Hungary (well...this was actually a tour for my University chamber choir. Vienna was beautiful, but the food was way better in Budapest.)

The only vehicle I've owned:
- Ford Sable

Pilates and Intelligent Design

I just completed four intensive hours of anatomy, the first step in my pilates teacher training certification.

The intricate and complex design of the human body is a little overwhelming to comprehend. Tonight I have only scratched the surface of the muscular and skeletal systems, and yet I am struck by how each of the many muscles, ligaments, tendons and bones are integrated so perfectly for the human body to function.

Each detail has reason behind it, and a distinct purpose in the masterpiece of the human body. The study of anatomy points strongly to a Designer. Even the instructor who said:

"We don't really need the psoas minor any more, it was only necessary when we walked on all fours",

could say in the next breath,

"The way the femur attaches into the hip socket is a genius design."

And later another student asked,

"Why is the lumbar spine designed like...um...I mean...whatever you believe...what is the purpose of it's limited range of motion in rotation?"

As we saw the purpose and function of everything, it was pretty difficult to talk about the human body as mere random chance. Presupposing evolution made it hard for anyone to ask "why?" without contradicting themselves.

I am reminded of Psalm 139:

For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.

Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there were none of them.

How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I would count them, they are more than the sand.

Creation undeniably points to the glory of the Creator. What joy to know that we are "fearfully and wonderfully made" in a way that transcends even our profound physical make-up. Studying anatomy has helped me appreciate again the wonder of God having "intricately woven" us in secret. Who can comprehend the greatness of the mind of God?

The Joys of Apartment Living

First it was mice, then cockroaches, and the latest is bedbugs. Yes, BEDBUGS! Apparently they thrive in hotels and apartment buildings moving quickly from room to room.

The day before we flew out to Alberta for Christmas, I had about ten red marks on my shoulder. I thought at first it was some sort of a rash, but most people who saw them thought they must be spider bites.

They faded into nonexistence during our week in Alberta, but after our first night back in TO, I woke up with about 15 to 20 bites on my leg, arm and face (all trailing in a line up the left side of my body). I thought, "this must be an angry spider."

We searched and searched to find the elusive spider in our bedroom, but to no avail. So off to Home Depot to buy spider Raid. We sprayed the floor and base of the bed, and thought if he was hiding in the bed, this would surely kill him.

Mysteriously, Clint didn't have a bite on him. Perhaps the spider was hiding on my side of the bed? Clint was gracious enough to switch sides of the bed with me so I could try to get some sleep that night.

For the next two nights, I received two new bites a night on my hip and leg. Less than before, but the bites were still swollen, red and itchy, and I wasn't about to let this keep happening. Either this spider was incredibly resilient, or this was not a spider biting me. And why was Clint not getting bitten?

Needless to say, we figured out that we have bed bugs, and have taken measures to deal with them. I have now had three biteless nights, but I have yet to sleep through the night for fear of blood-sucking bugs crawling on me.

Apart from a single break down the first night after we discovered the bedbugs, God has been gracious in helping me to deal with my fear (which was no small thing). Perhaps this is training ground for becoming a real farm wife. After my downtown Toronto experience, the creepy crawly creatures on our Alberta farm seem a little tamer.