Tuesday's with Chai.

I am sitting here is Starbucks, attempting to start/finish my final Mount Royal essay until my spring semester begins. These past four weeks I have been taking a course with them which focuses on Faith-based Organizations (FBOs) in international community development. Pretty fascinating class actually as I am finding my faith being challenged and stretched every time I read a fellow classmates essay. It has been a long time since I have been in a secular school setting, and it has definitely taken some adjustment on my part. Especially in this course, I am finding myself continually frustrated and at times even angry with some of the things people have to say about religious organizations. Its almost as if I feel like their criticism is aimed directly at me! Often before I comment on their work, I find myself having to take a "cool down" moment first as to not completely lash out in a rebuttal against them. I am also amazed to see how just through the outlet of words, I can clearly see who in my class is a believer and who is not. I have connected with this one women who also has Alliance affiliations, and I really enjoy reading her work, knowing that I have something in common with at least one of my classmates. Anyway, it has been an interesting course, and now having completed 4 of them, I can definitely feel my thinking being changed and opened up to all the issues around me and how I can be used to make a difference!

I really should be getting back to writing this essay, but I feel like I need to practice my procrastination skills for a bit, make sure they are up to snuff! I have this cute middle aged couple sitting across from me. They both have a coffee, copies of today's Metro newspaper and are doing the crossword together. Secretly, I think they are racing to see who can complete it first. Every once and while I see them talking about possibilities for one of the answers, pretty cute if you ask me. Seriously, sometimes I just don't know how married people do it, staying together for 50+ years, HOW do they not run out of things to say and do together?! But as I sit and observe I can see that it is small activities like this that even though they may seem so trivial, they can be the cornerstones of a long lasting and fulfilling relationship. It's like, their "thing".

Also, I would just like to bring up yet again, spring is DEFINITELY here. I have deducted this fact due to the abnormally high amount of babies I was surrounded by in church this past Sunday, and the fact that I know of at least four people who have had babies in the last week! And now, I have a slight case of baby fever.

Ok, last comment, and then it's time to get back to schoolwork (*SIIG*). I promise, soon, soon, very soon I will put up pictures of some of the wonderful things I have baked in the last couple of weeks. I wouldn't say that breads are a strength of mine yet, but I did make some pretty tasty apple dumplings the other day! (Side Note: If you have not already done so as a child, the watching of "The Apple Dumpling Gang" is a great way to relive your childhood in the times of the great old west, as well as becoming familiar with the delicious apple and pastry treat! Don Knotts is gold in this.)