swing

today i did two things for the very first time.

1) i left the water running in the kitchen when i went into my bedroom, forgot about it, then the water overflowed all over the floor.

2) i preached.

i'd been feeling a little bit nervous, but i had a lot of people giving me encouragement, so by the time i arrived at next this morning i was fairly calm and ready. unfortunately, when tim pulled up my powerpoint presentation all my photos were missing. that is very odd, because i work with powerpoint at work all the time, and i've never had that problem before. the thing about that was, that as a graphic designer, THAT'S what's gonna get me flustered – i'm very perfectionistic about design stuff. i managed to scramble and find almost all of them. it turned out to be both good and bad – i was too preoccupied to get nervous, but also too preoccupied to chat with the people who had come to next specifically to see me. the butlers came, melissa, and both my parents. anyways, i'm very grateful that as i presented my sermon i felt really comfortable, i wasn't nervous at all. and i remembered to say everything i wanted, fairly articulately too :) i was pleased with how it went, and honestly found the whole experience positive. i really learned a lot. i THINK they'll eventually post it online, if they can get it working. i'll let you know when it's available in case you're listening.

afterwards melissa came with me to sunday lunch. when we first arrived my mom told me that she'd been weepy in the car on her drive home. i asked her why, and she started crying again. she said it was because i'd done so well with my sermon, and that she was so proud of me. she said that i'm everything she'd always hoped i'd be and she was just so thankful. that was very nice, and it made me cry a little bit too because i can't think of a better compliment coming from her.

when i got home, i laid on the couch for a while, just curled up with a smile on my face. i felt content and satisfied. it felt good to have that done, and i was pleased with how it turned out (didn't stumble, repeat myself unnecessarily, didn't forget anything). after that, i started packing for peru – onto my next adventure. things are going ok. i'm pretty good at cramming stuff in. as of right now i don't think my backpack is even half full yet. i found it odd and surprising that at mid-july i was digging in my closet for a pair of mitts and a toque to take on vacation with me. i can't believe it's less than a week now. exciting!

to claim the victory jesus won.