Back...

I think we did pretty good.
Nearly 6 weeks on vacation, and we didn't blog about our experiences even once. I'm sure that Beth will have a lot to say about our trip now that we're back, but I'll give you a few of my highlights first:

Taking Matt to Sherwood Forest and him being surprised that it was a real place.
Watching the Eurovision Song Contest with Beth and watching her face when the Ukraine entry was on.
Flying to Finland to see good friends and enjoy VERY hot sauna.
Attending a friend's wedding in the middle of Leicester Square in London.
Spending lots of time with my family.
Going to see Maximo Park with Brett and Laura.
Watching Brett play basketball.
Seeing Addie go nuts when I caught her a fish.
Hearing Addie learn new words.
Drinking plenty of English beer and cider.
Completing some nice tattoos.
Speaking at Poplars Church.

And much more.

We had a great time, and we are so blessed to have been able to take a break like that. To spend time with people and just chill out as a family for so long. Going back to work on Monday is going to be HARD.

Tonight We Fly

AH, one of our favourite songs. How appropriate that we are humming it today :)

Thomas Cook flight # TCX 4L / Non-Stop / Boeing B757
Arriving in Birmingham 6:40AM

Here At Last

April hath put a spirit of youth in everything.
~William Shakespeare

Living in a country where we experience four distinct seasons is good fun. I really try not to take that for granted because we might end up somewhere someday where that is not the case.

It is funny though, I never enjoyed spring as much as I do now that I am married to Mark. Seriously. His appreciation for Lady Spring's magic has rubbed off on me.

For example, the other day we spontaneously spent a good hour taking photos downtown of budding trees that seemed so eager to bloom, and some fantastic shots of tulips in their prime.

He is right - something about the world thawing and then coming to life all at once all around you is wonderful.

Life is bursting forth whether we notice or not.

So, here are a few fun reasons why us Hardys fancy the spring:
1-Rain boots:
in vibrant, outrageous colours...for splashing in puddles of course.
2-The park:
spending hours outside without catching a cold, wearing no greasy sunscreen on, and very little humidity. Phew!
3- Weddings:
this is the beginning of typical wedding season, a time to celebrate and dance with friends.
4- Exercise:
this is the perfect weather for running!
5- Baseball:
the season has started - toonie Tuesdays anyone?
6- Centre Island:
the ferry is up and running!
7- The Ice Cream Truck is back from the dead:
AND let's not forget ice cold home made smoothies in blenders again...oh yeah.
8- BBQs:
mmm hmm.
9- Trench coats instead of heavy winter gear.
10- Everyone out-and-about, taking walks instead of watching more TV.
11- Lounging on patios again.
12- Drive-in movie theatres - opening very soon indeed!
13- Tulips.
14- More buskers, more street-art.
15- A rich emerald shade of GREEN everywhere. Especially immaculate Italian lawns.
16- And finally, this spring is particularly special as we're going to be in England and Finland for the rest of it - spending time with friends and family so very dear to our hearts. Having a little time for ourselves as well.
WahooOOoooo :)

Enjoy the rest of Spring - we'll be back to greet summer with you at the beach very soon!

For the Love of Justice

Today I am designing/putting together a sort of 'scrap book' for Saturday's event, called :
THE RESCUE of Joseph Kony's Child Soldiers.

Here are some details.

The 1000+ people that will come out and be 'abducted' to Queen's Park can express themselves in it, and then the coordinators of Saturday's event in Toronto want to send it to the organization themselves - Invisible Children. You may be familiar with their documentaries about what is happening in Uganda.

The whole event is going to be really powerful. If you're in one of the cities that is holding A RESCUE, please consider going. You can make a difference. Check this:

So, I am thinking about those children,
while Adelaide is asleep upstairs -
safe,
warm,
and within my reach.
My tears are falling for Uganda.
Today my heart is aching for Joseph Kony's child soldiers.

For you Toronto-folk, I hope to see you there. It will be easy to find me as I'll be the one doing a really big painting and getting people to fill the scrapbook :)

Thoughts on Love, from Chicago

"Hang my locket around your neck, wear my ring on your finger.
Love is invincible facing danger and death.
Passion laughs at the terrors of hell. The fire of love stops at nothing- it sweeps everything before it. Flood waters can't drown love, torrents of rain can't put it out."
~ Song of Songs 8, MSG.

I am writing this on the eight-hour journey home from our first visit to Chicago, Illinois. Mark is driving, and no doubt making good use of the cruise control feature. The sun has literally just broken through the clouds. The fields on either side of the Interstate are barren, slowly recovering from winter-shock. Still, we both remark on how stunning golden hour is on these American fields. Mark and I share a deep appreciation for the unique and the lovely United States. We marvel at our opportunity to visit our southern neighbours in only the second month of Obama's presidency.
I can't put my finger on what exactly it is about roadtrips that I find so worshipful. The open road, the maps, the laughter, the anticipation, the fact that I enjoy being behind the wheel...it probably has something to do with the long silence that creeps up between pit stops and cd changes. This trip was to celebrate our second wedding anniversary. It puts a smile on my face to think back. Two years ago this time we were all pruny from the jacuzzi in our private little Victorian inn, getting ready for a night out on the town in Montreal. We must have been BEAMING with that unmistakeable newly-wed glow.
I hope those vivid memories of our beginnings never fade...and I hope one day we finally master Quebecois French :)
Fast forward to this year in Chicago's intimate 'Metro' music venue, where on the very evening of our anniversary, Jimmy Eat World played our favourite album, Clarity, from start to finish. You can imagine how fast the gig sold out back in November! The most thrilling moment was holding each other's hand whilst being engulfed in the song I walked down the aisle to, For Me This Is Heaven. Layers of memories intertwined in the sound waves overwhelmed us over and over again...the walls must have stretched to contain them.
This all set the bar quite high for next year ;)

I am thinking about how drastically different life is with a husband, with a partner. I am thinking about how fierce and strong our love truly is. This Delirious lyric is playing in the background,
"hold me, blow all the pride from my bones, with your fire..." I am reminded of all the big and barely noticeable ways my pride has been uncovered, confronted, and challenged by marriage.
This union, our oneness simply cannot cope with it. So, we have and are still changing- transforming just from doing life together, learning from mistakes and always wanting to care for each other better. When I choose pride, whatever is at my best interest, what would make me look good, or embrace 'my way or-the-highway' attitudes over walking in love, I am squeezing out of that bond of oneness into a place of individuality and control. It is rather awkward when you think about it- kind of like being in a three-legged race and deciding to walk at a different pace. So in such a time as this, when I look at society and see 'Quick Divorce' adverts and people letting go of marriages for a lot of reasons, there lies a choice for me. It is the difference between pride and humility, selfishness or serving...daily preferring, daily choosing Mark. When I just sit with my Heavenly Father, when I submit to His river and let it carry me, it pulls me into a deeper love for Mark and for people. With His help I make the choice to give of my whole self, to love, to let go.
We have been reading a book together called, The Kosher Sutra. It is written by an AMAZING author named Rabbi Shmuley Boteach (host of Shalom In The Home). The book actually focuses on eroticism, but not at all in the way that we understand it. Eroticism in every day existence, as opposed to boredom, so not just romantically and not at all with whips or chains. Mark will post a proper review soon - it has changed our lives.
Anyway,there is this passage I read recently that reminded me of my inspiring husband and one of the many ways he is so attractive to me. Beyond his dangerous good looks and wicked sense of humour lies his innocence, his childlikeness...which is so precious to me.

"What makes the innocent person so deeply charming and erotic is the openness of their heart. Because their souls are translucent, you can see right into their essence. Innocent people disarm us. Because they are so natural, they invite us to behave naturally around them as well, allowing for our deepest selves to be manifest. Indeed, they posess the unique gift of making us not have to take ourselves too seriously as they never invite competition. Similarly babies, the most innocent creatures of all, bring out the best in even the toughest people because they force us to be genuine.They cause us to stop acting and just "be ourselves". Unskilled in the art of manipulation, the innocent person accepts the humanity and infinite worth of every individual. With no agenda other than sharing, openness, and love, the innocent person allows us to lessen our guard as well. The manipulative person, on the contrary, sees others as the means by which to achieve his own selfish ends."

Chicago was better than we could have asked for, really. Our hotel overlooked glorious Grant Park. We took the above-ground transit (the L) all over the city exploring, filming, buzzing with excitement. The architecture was impressive, we stood in awe of some towers. We found an amazing little bakery, a delicious diner, and beyond-belief breakfast place. The people were friendly, the weather was mostly sunny and mild. We stood behind Jim from The Office in the Art Institute, and took in a cracking good NHL game where the captain of the Blackhawks scored his first hat trick and the place erupted. The long, wide avenues lit up at night are tremendously romantic. Totally worth it.
Did I mention that Mark's colleague from work dropped a bag-o-cash on his desk before we left? It had $275. How generous are our friends?! :)
Alrighty, time to stretch our legs and grab a tea to see us on until we pass through Detroit and reach the border.

You can check out more photos of us in The Windy City here.

More Than Harm Reduction

This will be part 1 of a few posts discussing a passion of mine, harm reduction, one of the ways to extend a hand-up to poor.
I am shocked at how many people don't know that Canada is home to North America's only safe-injection site. While the down-town east-side of Vancouver is known for it's dark reputation of having a seriously high concentration of hard-to-reach addicted drug-users, and homeless people -some struggling with mental health issues, really good efforts going on in the area sometimes fail to be mentioned or recognized.

InSite is an amazing place. Simply put, people can go there and safely inject their drugs – drugs such as morphine, cocaine, and heroin. To be clear, these drugs are not provided. The safe equipment, support staff (nurses, social workers, etc), and detox information are why people use this service as opposed to injecting in a back alley a couple of blocks away and then discarding the needle on the street.

Feathers are often ruffled and questions like "How why is our government allowing this?" are usually raised at this point. Those feelings and questions are valid. I understand the concerns, but as I have been able to research InSite in some depth in 2008, I would be more than happy to assure you of a few things and let you in on some very hopeful, uplifting facts and statistics.

From 2003, InSite has functioned under an exemption to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. This was extended a number of times and in 2008, the Supreme Court Justice Ian Pitfield gave the government of Canada until June 2009 to ammend the law so that InSite can remain open. Why?

“In a 60-page ruling released Tuesday, Pitfield found that sections of the federal Controlled Drugs and Substances Act are inconsistent with Section 7 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Pitfield says in his ruling that denying access to the site ignores the illness of addiction.”

Find more of that CBC news article here.

Well, the government appealed this decision. Their appeal *what I like to refer to as their tantrum* will be heard in April.

Have a look at these statistics from 2007:



Have a look at this youtube video:


Adelaide is now awake so this will have to be it for part one. Stay tuned for part two, folks!

Meek

I've wanted this on my wall since September. The image, by artist Meek, effectively sums up the urgent cry of people experiencing various degrees of poverty - their cry for a 'HAND-UP' instead of a 'hand-out'...

I have started applying to work for a number of organizations this summer. Working with people and anti-oppressive agencies who are offering that HAND-UP to children, families and individuals. Puh-leeeeease pray that a door opens as I am getting what feels like cabin-fever in uni.
My course load is nowhere near what other SW students (without kiddies) are facing, but finishing this current semester seems as daunting as running a marathon...

Party like a Hardy

Well well well...little miss Adelaide Selah Hardy, you are one whole year old!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY :) Love your biggest fans, Mummy and Daddy XXXXXXXXX

consumption

How much stuff have you got?
www.thestoryofstuff.com
"The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world. It'll teach you something, it'll make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever."

You probably know a lot of this already...meh- still worth the twenty minute watch ;)

Listen

There is "something new and interesting going on in the universe," said Alan Kogut of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.

Something about the short article, Mystery Roar, excited me. It is about a sound, "a roar from the distant cosmos", that cannot be explained.
I don't know much about astronomy. I can point out only a few constellations when we get outside of the city at night, and I even get those few mixed up from time to time. Sometimes though, I do find myself just staring - staring straight up at the sky in child-like wonder and amusement. I think about all those stars...all those galaxies, all those planets...all those suns and moons...until my brain throws it's hands up and says enough. These things are too big, too lofty for me.
That's when I put on BBC's Planet Earth series for like the 500th time - ooing and aaahing over the deserts, caves, rainforests, animals, and underwater worlds of good ol' earth. Still, more than I can handle.

Come on. The fact that the universe is continually expanding FASCINATES me. Isn't it CRAZY?
Itty bitty little me...itty bitty little us.
I watch and read the news constantly, I go to university and am bombarded with information from textbooks, websites, articles and films. I can talk your ear off about what is going on in my life and my opinions about various debates, issues, food, and design all around the world.
Even when I finally shut up to listen, it is usually to music that I choose from a selection of bands that I know of.
When I ponder the universe and discoveries such as these, I am humbled by my wee pea-sized bubble. The same bubble that can so easily feel overwhelming.

There is a much bigger picture to see, and a much bigger story being told.

*grinning* How exciting. How creative, and wonderful and mysterious and complex!

Although my knowledge of things out-there doesn't begin to skim the surface, I know the Creator of it all. Could it be that the same roar in the never-ending universe is the same voice resonating in my heart...spoken by a never-ending God?

Am I still little? Yes. Insignificant? No.

Neither are you...

numero uno

Voila. My first tattoo.
Brought to you by www.deeperthanwar.com :)




I'm not really going to go into it too much on this here blog, except to say that it means a lot to me and is over my heart for a reason.
Mercy, compassion, forbearance, kindness ... where do I start?
Themes like these have led me to countless encounters and experiences I would not trade for the world, not to mention a career choice in the helping profession.

In Micah, you will find something like this, "He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."
Similarly in Matthew, "But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
Naturally, lots of inspiration came from my faith and the scriptures.

I have in mind some more script for the other side to create a symmetrical piece, but that will have to wait as it wasn't the most pleasant feeling in the world. Ouch ouch ouch!


Until next time, glad tidings to you all :) Big jolly Christmas hugs from the Hardys XXX

Want to confuse someone?

from xkcd

Is it just me?

So, I was watching an old Mark Knopfler video while I wrote the script for a nativity play (don't ask) this morning, and I realised that the legendary guitarist from Dire Straits bears a striking resemblance to the popular comedian, Jerry Seinfeld.

True, no?

she

Never fails to melt our hearts...




Oh little girl, you are a wonder and a gift.


Has it been ten months already?

A fine example of England's most noble breed...

We celebrated my darling husband's twenty-seventh birthday yesterday with bangers and mash, beer, banoffee pie, and other delicious mouth-watering goodies.
Yum yum yummy. He is such a star, isn't he?

Ok, I learned:
- Banoffee pie is not difficult to make.
- That a traditional English buffet item is cubes of cheese and pineapple on skewers stuck in a baked potato with foil on it. It looks like a hedgehog. Hmmmm.
- That homemade apple cider is way better than the packet.
- That Mark WILL NOT let Christmas steal his birthday thunder.
- That Mark has really rubbed off on me over the last five years. I can name quite a few Brit pop bands and classic hits and we are making the same jokes WAY more often.

Onto the next exciting order of business - Montreal this weekend, as we have postponed our trip to visit the Murphy's in Raleigh...sniff, sniff. Then, home to exams.
Time is FLYING!

Don Miller prayed.

I read Blue Like Jazz years ago during a time when I was searching for literature about the Christian walk that was less religious I guess you could say...many of you may have read it and I wonder if it spoke to you.
Did that short little book inspire you like it inspired me?
So I passed it along to Mark and his dad who both enjoyed reading it and they, in turn, passed it along to others. (BTW:Our copy of Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell is up for grabs if anyone wants to borrow ours. I loved it.)
Anyway, the author, Don Miller has written other fantastic books and writes a blog that I enjoy reading as well.

When I watched him pray at the Democratic National Convention, it brought tears to my eyes.
I love what he said from his heart. I was just thinking how difficult it must have been to want to say so much more to that enormous audience- his fellow Americans- his brothers and sisters, but being limited to time and political correct-ness.
Also thinking about how many people would take this moment and then analyze and pick apart this personal dialogue with his Heavenly Father. Saying things like how he didn't use enough "Christianese" words, or how it left out this or that or the other thing or said something that was full out wrong. The discussion that prayer sparked was just fascinating and...kind of scary.

Anyway, if you haven't watched it already here it is. There is a bit where it is censored, so to read that part visit this blog because they have transcribed it.

All of this is not to say that I would pray the exact same thing, but that doesn't matter.

We were impacted by the words that this man prayed in August.
And for us (one Canadian and one Brit, mind you)...where we're at, we say "amen".

on a lighter note

This is Mark's favourite pop track, and I think the video is perfect in every way.
Wow...just...wow.

Next time you're getting ready for a night out on the town, we insist that you slam a copy on the turntable, or even better - put the video in the Betamax machine. Or just put on the Wedding Singer sountrack and get pumped to dance dance dance :)

Election.

Is it just me?
I've been noticing an alarming trend recently. Nobody can have missed the fact that today is election day in the States, and it's fairly clear that the rest of the world is as fascinated as the USA itself over the result. Here's the thing that's worrying me:
I have come across an enormous number of Christians who are voting McCain, and pushing that decision onto anyone that comes their way, based ENTIRELY on the fact that Obama is pro-choice. Some of them bring up the issue of gay marriage too.

These are important issues, for sure. I don't like the idea of abortion one bit. I think it's wrong. I would love to see a world where abortion doesn't exist. But I don't think for one minute that it is a good idea to cast your vote based on that issue and that issue alone. I also suspect that it won't matter who gets in when it comes to these issues, because there's more to changing a law than a personal belief.

I don't want to make this a long post, because I don't think it needs to be. I'm not trying to push a political perspective on anyone. Vote the way you want - that's the whole point of democracy, right? I don't like to see people mass emailing and telling people that they have to pray that Obama doesn't get in, because I think it goes against the idea of democracy, and it uses the name of God to guilt trip people. Not my idea of a good time. I just wanted to suggest that the kind of short-sightedness that's causing people to vote on one or two issues, can cause enormous problems. The result of this vote will affect America and the world for the next four years, minimum. Do you really think that the only issue affecting the world until 2012 will be whether or not it's legal to abort a baby?

Is it just me that sees this?

thankful

“You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him." Matthew 7 NLT






Happy Canadian Thanksgiving - however you celebrate, enjoy enjoy enjoy.

If you're not in Canada, have a feast just for the heck of it...and cultivate thankfulness- just because you can ;)

More BFF...

How did I not know these shows existed? I was showing one of my colleagues some videos of Ben Folds, and I found these clips from two of his DVDs.
The first was recorded in 2005 (how come I only just found out about it?!) in Perth with the Western Australian Symphony Orchestra.
The second was a Myspace show. They're both incredible.

The new album is a scorcher, too, by the way.

Ben Folds with the WASO - Zak and Sara


Ben Folds - Such Great Heights