"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving." ~ Colossians 3:23,24

Monday, May 29, 2006

Come to Qwanoes!!

Hey friends!

So here I am, sitting on a couch in the Head Counselors Office at camp, beckoning you to come to camp this weekend. What, you can come to camp? Yes, yes you can! You see, not only does Jennsalt want to see you and spend some precious time with you, but the camp really needs your help. This weekend coming up is the Qwanoes work weekend/Day of Prayer. What better way to spend a weekend (well one evening and one day...Friday afternoon to Sat night) than at camp with such fine fellows serving and giggling??! So if you haven't already thought about it, think about it now and then tell Grant or Andreas. I'd love to see the senior highs get together for an event like this - it would be awesome!

Anyway, I love you all and I hope to see you soon. Email me and let me know how life is.

Love, Jenn

Sunday, May 28, 2006

it's been so long since i posted!

one week, to be exact. i guess i've had my head somewhere else... anywho, i've come to unleash some of my hyper-excitement on all of you. i need an outlet of some sort, and my own blog can only take me so far. besides, in a family i think it's important to share and update every once in a while. so, here's the lowdown. alannah and i are going to a concert tonight, so we won't be at dsf. sure, we'll miss you, but i think we'll be too busy dancing etc. to actually get the fully effect of a service+friend-free evening. besides, we'll see you wednesday! but anyways, the concert we're going to is bedouin sundclash opening for ben harper and the innocent criminals. what a way to start off the summer-ish season. please, pray that it won't rain 'cause we'll be outside. anywho, see you all later. i think the majority of my excited energy has run it's course. adios, peace be with you, much love (and so on).

Sunday, May 21, 2006

ok, jon, i'm out-youtubing you.

but, seriously, it's about time...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XxI-hvPRRA

try not to sing along, and make sure you stick around for anthonymon.

Thursday, May 18, 2006

44 Days till CIT #1

This is my Australian roommate Lauren holding up the big 44. Can you believe that there are only 44 days left until the first day of CIT? Life could not get any sweeter than this (okay, maybe it could, but I doubt anyone's going to bring me a lovely little dessert or a small child right now). I hope you're as excited as I am - I can barely contain myself (maybe that has some to do with the caffeine I just ingested, but maybe NOT!)

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

Grand Moments in the Life of Jacqueline Koot

Hey friends!
So I picked through my pictures file on my computer to find some of the best Jacquie-photos that I could find. I clearly warned her to quit while she was ahead, but she challenged me and now I'm coming back with more! Therefore, enjoy some grand moments from the life of Jacqueline Koot:


Jacquie & Brian at my 16th birthday party-- they're like two peas in a pod.

THIS is one amazing picture! Notice the hiked-up sweats indicating that Jacqueline is most definitely an official "nerd". Another great thing about this shot is Jac's facial expression. I don't know how to describe it really, but it's a hot one.



Jacquie likes being a fish. This picture is one of my favourites. The passion of that fish just makes me wanna SWIM!


Oh la la! Jacquie's PERSONAL life coming out? Why don't we ask Mr. Dodds...


In this shot, Jacqueline is demonstrating the "warrior pose" for us. She is very talented in the art of yoga. Check out that face-- obviously she's a winner.


PEEK-A-BOO! It's Jacquie! Or at least her BUM! Well, we never get tired of seeing it, do we?

I love you, Miss Jacqueline Maija Koot! Please don't hate me forever...

Tara




Monday, May 15, 2006



Ok, I've had this picture saved to my computer for a long time, just waiting for a time to use it, and now I have a question: Does this remind you guys of anyone?

i've been thinking...

i spend an average of 14 hours a day in my pyjamas. is that too much? and another thing, i have a problem with finishing books... as in i don't, even if i like them. does that mean something? is there some sort of underlying commitment issue there? am i over-analyzing my wierd habits? probably. what i do know is that, like janine, i'm in a really wierd mood, and her blog has made me want tea. i'm gonna go think about these issues more, and while i'm at it, i'm gonna make some tea and work on my guide d'étude for socials.

Sunday, May 14, 2006

A Life Worth Living

Today was the BC Cancer Society's Relay For Life on the track of SDSS. When Keddi asked Lisa and I to volunteer for this grand event, I didn't really know what to expect, but we figured we'd show up and see what would happen. However, once I pulled up to the school and caught a quick glance at a grassy field covered with tents, cheerleaders, tables, stations, sports games, balloons, and TONS of people, I figured this whole thing may have been a bit bigger than I first anticipated. Throughout the evening (our shift was 7 PM-12 AM), I had the opportunity to--besides the chopping apples and arranging blueberry juice containers--meet some amazing people, hear touching stories from cancer-survivers, and become inspired to make a difference! The thing, however, that moved me the most was the underlying message of hope in the voice of each person who has lived through the devestating effects of cancer. One elderly lady stood up in front of the crowd and gave a heart-warming speech on her experience of God-given hope. She encouraged each participant, surviver, and battler that, in their struggles, God was the One who truly understood their pain when nobody else did. She even talked about His love and how His comfort has been so huge in her fight with Cancer. Between her heart-felt words and the active participation of all the people who took turns running around the track, I was nearly moved to tears. I couldn't believe how many teams of people would go full-out pledging, run for an entire hour (some actually RAN the whole time!), and tent in the middle of a high school track, all to raise money for the cure to Cancer. Wow. It was quite the eye-opener, if you ask me. Events like this not only motivate you to help out with a worth-while cause, but they also inspire you to re-evaluate your own life and think about what is really important. One of the survivers mentioned how she is grateful for the way Cancer has changed her life because she will never see it the same way again. Every single moment is a gift and every day is a new opportunity. She even went as far as saying that she thinks everyone should be a Cancer patient--all said with the best of intentions. According to those who have endured the disease, it leads you to a deeper appreciation of life. Wouldn't that be cool? If we would truly appreciate life? If we really stopped and thanked God for each and every breath He gave us. If we put the important things at the top and stopped worrying about the minor details? If we lived each day as if it were our last and gave it our 110%? Now THAT would be a life worth living.

Anyways, just thought I'd share with you my little experience of the night. It was much more than little for me, but you really need to be involved yourself to truly be affected. My words don't mean a whole lot sitting here on a Senior High blog, so it's up to YOU to do what you will. :)

Love you guys,

Tara

Friday, May 12, 2006

my day: an odd one


...and so i did. today, i baked a pie, organized my room AND my hotmail contacts list, did laundry, finished the famine nicely, made plans, got plans canceled, napped, and listened to ALOT of moby. just thought i'd fill you all in... i'm bored. see you on sunday!

holy cow!

ok, you guys have to go to this site and type in the URL for the senior high blog. it's amazing. http://www.gizoogle.com

it translates webpages, so our whole blog looks like something out of Snoop Dogg's mouth.

Thursday, May 11, 2006

i heart kelly clarkson

...but really,that has nothing to do with this post. well, it kind of does. her video is on much right now, and i'm watching/listening to it. so, has anyone seen my wallet? i might have left it in your car, jenn.

Bowling pics - yeah, you should have been there

Welcome to Wednesday night all you can bowl....

Cam thinks that modeling is part of bowling... not everything is a zoolander moment

No, Jon, you throw that down the lane. Eating it doesn't get you any points.


Whose tush could this be? Oh wait, I know!


Auditions for Canada's Next Top Male Model were being held next door - sorry to disappoint you guys


Tummy bowling! Our scores were so low in that game

Could Steve possibly look a little more startled?


Awww... team bowling hug (and then they did some crazy dance... I was confused)

Aww.. such beautiful bowlers!


Cotter is going for the strike... Nice pre-bowl form. I'd give him a 10.


Deany in motion

Tuesday, May 09, 2006

BOWLING NIGHT!

So here's your info for bowling night:

Meet at the bowling alley (Tsawwassen Lanes) at 7:15pm

Bring $7.25 (or $6 if you have your own fancy bowling shoes)

Bowl your heart out until 9pm

Head over to Timmy Ho's for a delicious treat

Any questions? Email Jenn!

Love ya!

Portfolio - MEH!

Yes this post is lacking in interestingness(yes thats right!) but I was wondering if anyone has good pictures of me (Morgan -if you haven't scrolled down yet) from Salt Spring this last summer. My planning teacher wants me to include some in my portfolio and since I did not take any, I am looking to my fellow senior highs. If you do have some could you email them to me @ love2shop_90@hotmail.com asap.

Thanks, muchly appreciated

Monday, May 08, 2006

bureaucracy

it's a noun. one of it's meanings, the one i'm taking into context here, is, "an administrative system in which the need or inclination to follow rigid or complex procedures impedes effective action." unfortunately, i feel as though i am slowly being forced to live in a bureaucracy i have, myself, only half-heartedly refused to accept. here's the thing; once you impose upon something a set of rules, of guidelines- once you try to fit it into a box of some sort- it almost loses meaning. furthermore, in my experience, it has a tendency to fall apart. i don't want to write a typical pointless blog, so i'll try to get around to the real reason behind my ramblings.

primary point: relationships are no exception to the above observation i have made. in fact, they're exactly what i had in mind when i made said observation. i've tried calling relationships things before (ex. "we're best friends!" or "yeah, we're dating."), and it usually doesn't go as well in real life as it looks on paper. restricting a relationship from the get-go is a surefire way to hold back it's growth process.

secondary point: since i have gone so far as to actually learn something from life, a surprise even to my jaded self, i have decided to actually put that lesson to use. i would deeply appreciate it if any and all of you could refrain from any comments concerning the "dating" or whatever status of a certain Marcopoulos and myself, for more reasons that one (even though i'm only going to mention one, because it's the only one i'm actually aware of); i have no idea, myself even, what is going on.

trimary (euh...?) point: so, to sum with a point, butt out. i love you all, but with all due respect, i need you to leave this alone.

thank-you, and much love.

Sr High Year end Party

Just to let you know, there will be a BBQ/Swim party for all Sr Highs and Sr High leaders on Sunday, June 11th from 1pm to 5pm at the Lawrie's house. Don't know where that is? Well it's 5063 Cliff Drive. Sue and Scott Lawrie, Cammy Cam's parents, have said that they will provide food and beverages, so all you need to do is show up with your swim gear on.

So, hurrah! Yay for eating and swimming!

(Yes, this message is about a month ahead of time... but I just thought i'd let you know!)

Love ya!

Jenn

Sunday, May 07, 2006

yes, jacqui, it is spelled "bracelet," but how do you spell your name?

it's too late for me. you can't tell because i'm scrupulously editing this post, but my typos are horrible. anyways, to the point... can anyone fill me in on the whole wednesday thing? are we really going bowling? if so, plz(yeah, i realise how lazy that is) comment. if not, jon, you can expect me at your house whenever i usually turn up. goodnight, all, and God bless.

Friday, May 05, 2006

E3. Yes, it's coming up!

Well then, everybody, I hope you haven't all forgotten about the very important 4-day even coming up this next week: E3! The Electronic Entertainment Expo! How could you forget?

Just thought I'd make sure everybody would be watching 3 hours of TV content every day from Tuesday to Friday, just like me! I know you're all as keen on this giant video games event as I am!

Actually, I know you're not. I just wanted a reason to post something. I hope all ya'll are having fun at the camp-out tonight. I'm not; I'm not there! Ha! I...don't know.

Oh, I must apologize for my lack of attendance to youth events. Especially 'home church'/wednesday youth. I've had baseball, you see. Yes, for the past 3 weeks.

Anyway, I don't actually have anything else. If you really care about my life/E3/programming, head over to my blog. I'll be watching yours. In a creepy way of course.

I don't know what the point of this post was. Very sorry if it offends you.

Edit: my blog is located at benreilly.blogspot.com. I mean, you could have found it through my profile *cough*cam*cough*. Thanks for pointing out all my flaws, Cam; much appreciated!

Some lovely pictures of Jenn

Voici some amazing pictures of Jenn I took at Qwanoes this past weekend. These were taken while I was trying to take nice pictures of Jenn -oops (click).












These just have to be shared with the senior high population.
Enjoy

PS. Your welcome Jenn!

Something I've always wondered...

Why does our church have a river?

Do you know why? I sure don't. In fact, I am quite puzzled by this. I'm dying to hear a good explanation.

Wednesday, May 03, 2006

death to french projects

ok, so here i am in my living room listening to daft punk and working on my mom's laptop. on top of all this, i am also pondering the stupidity that is the french "projet de lecture." i admit that i probably should have started earlier (i only got around to taking a book out yesterday, and it's due tomorrow:S), but really... this project is pretty much EXACTLY the same as the last project we had to do in french, for which i did the black cat by poe. fortunately, she liked it. the only thing really going rancid for me at this point is the fact that i wrote a half-hour essay yesterday, and am pretty much done as far as intelligent writing goes. all i can say is, "thank goodness for good music!" i'm hoping to see you all tonight, aswell as on friday night (even though i'll be late because of work). so, nearing the end of my update here... adios!

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

Gap @ The Church

Just letting all of you know....

GAP is at the Church tonite @ 7:15pm. It's a combined Junes & Scenes night (or so Grant likes to call it) with a David Letterman-esque theme. Don't know what that means, well that's okay, you should come anyway! There will obviously be good eats (a little sugar shack) and some ridiculous acting (oh sweet mercy I'm the worst actress ever!).

So I'll see you tonite @ 7:15!

Love & hugs,

Jenn

P.S. Poo on Janine for posting on top of my other post - It will rise again (I promise!)

CAMPIN' OUT - SR HIGH STYLE

Here are the details for Friday night's camp out:

Time: 6:30pm May 5th to 9am May 6th

Place: Parking lot behind the church (next to the volleyball court)

Stuff to bring: Warm clothes, sleeping bag, pillow, tent (if you have one), extra blankets (if you need them) and your own "hot mug cup" (or so Andreas says... I think he means mug), flashlight, bible

Food to Bring: Chocolate, chips, hot chocolate, anything you might roast over a bonfire (not your younger sibling)

There will be some lovely BBQ'd food provided for you throughout the evening so don't worry about dinner.

We'll spend the night huddled around the fire, playing games, and planning for Sr. High 2006-7. It'll be a great event, so try not to miss it!

If you have any questions, just email, call or post on my blog

Love ya!

Jacquie at Qwanoes

Haha! Since my darling Jacqueline Koot expressed un peu de triste-ness about not getting her picture up on the blog, I've decided to post a little photograph of this gorgeous camp diva! Observe le Jacquie!



This is Miss Koot last Spring during her first week of OSC. She is pumped up and ready to go!

Tara

Monday, May 01, 2006

P R A Y E R

Bonjour mes amis de Senior High!

I am sorry to add a sadder (yes, that's right, SADDER) note to this oh-so-happy blog, but I really need prayer right now. I always feel incredibly guilty in asking people to pray for me because I know that I, myself, am very unfaithful when it comes down to it. I tell my friends that I'll "definitely pray for you" and I never end up being as consistant as I had hoped to be. HOWEVER, this time I have decided that, despite people who can perhaps easily relate to me, I will send out a request and hope that somebody will respond. I mean, SOMEBODY must have the gift of prayer out there.

I have been even more stressed than usual over the past little while and I am lost for solutions. Many of you, I know, are struggling with school as the end of the year grows closer. Teachers are piling it all on. I have found it increasingly difficult to concentrate at school and at home, and it has really affected how much work I actually get done, so that hasn't been all that helpful either. Portfolio is yet another thing I haven't had time for, despite my efforts, and I have no idea how I am ever going to finish it by November.

I have also been recruited to the "Les Mis Team". The world of drama has had a huge lack of people to do important jobs behind-the-scenes, so I have become the new Stage Carpenter (a misleading title, as I do not MAKE anything-- my job is to be the boss for everything to do with the set for the play-- the second largest job backstage! eek! :S). Although I am super excited for this new endeavour, all free time I ever had is now lost. It's a serious committment so I will be there pretty much everyday, excluding Saturdays, for the next three weeks. I would be fine with everything to do with it, except that my mom isn't so happy. Today was my first day as Head Grip, and I came home to an argument about how this decision I made wasn't what she thought it would be. I've been getting nothing but guilt trips over missing so much time at home (we'll be having a Mother's Day rehearsal unfortunately), and I really don't want problems with my parents because of this. HOWEVER, I had already talked it over with my mom, and she agreed to everything, so I don't know what else to do. I am hoping things will heal over there so that I don't have to let everyone on crew down.

This summer is another thing I've been starting to worry about. I had it all planned out before this week: I was going to go to Staff Training at Qwanoes immediately after exams, come home to get my N license, go to summer school for Chem 11 while working at the doctor's office in Ladner, spend a week with my family in Disneyland, and go to Qwanoes for the last two weeks of August. HOWEVER, after talking to our counselor, I found out that Chemistry 11 may not run this summer because there may not be enough people to take the course. Now, summer school was the only reason I rejected my initial plan of oversea missions. That was what I REALLY wanted to do. Then, when I found out that I would need to take Chemistry 11 and 12 for university, I thought God might have been opening a window for me to spend some time in Tsawwassen and serve in more local ministries. But NOW I don't know WHAT I am supposed to do! I kind of see this as a trus-issue, because my summer was all perfectly set out for me, and now God might be shaking things up a bit to make sure I'm still putting my trust in HIM and not my own plans. Hmm, we'll see where this goes.

Anyways, those are some of the main things. I'm sorry for writing so much, but I would really love it if even just ONE of you could pray for me! Please pray that God will give me some major strength to get through the end of the year and that He'll help me to prioritize so that I do what's most important. Also pray for the whole Les Mis thing and direction for the summer. Thanks guys! I appreciate it so much.

Love Tara

quote of the week

so, every week (on monday) i get an e-mail from quoteland.com. i look forward to this e-mail for the entire week previous. this e-mail consists of (drumroll, please): the quote of the week from the "inspirational" category on the quoteland website. yes. anyways... this week's was particularly inducive of inspirational thoughts, so i thought i'd share it with y'all.


"If mankind had not embedded itself, with the momentum of centuries and the passion of habit, in the "idée fixe" that a tyrant is one man, they would easily understand that to be persecuted by the masses is the most grievous of all, because the masses are the sum of the individuals, so that each individual makes his little contribution, while he does not realise how great it becomes when all of them do it. "

- Søren Kierkegaard, "The Journals of Søren Kierkegaard, ed. A. Dru, (London:Fontana Books, 1958), p. 124.

remember, guys, that no matter how many people seem to be against you, you will always have Jesus. also, remember the power that you hold when you choose to set yourself apart from your peers, to step out and stand up for your beliefs.