Not A Mechanic

Although I did take mechanics class in grade 10, I am not a mechanic. In fact, I don't really remember much of anything I learned in mechanics class. I am blaming that on the fact that I didn't have my own vehicle at the time. I do remember my teacher saying something about checking certain things in your car every so often, but what and how often? No clue.

Yes this is going somewhere, so stay tuned in.


So earlier this Summer I realized that my car had a little red symbol light in the shape of an almost-empty bottle appearing on my dashboard. I was not really concerned about it because I had just gotten an oil change and figured that the light was just broken or something. But being the curious and worrying person I am, I decided to check my car manual just to make sure nothing was terribly wrong. Sure enough, the light was not referring to the oil, but to the coolant level. So I opened my hood to check the coolant tank and when I unscrewed the lid, it was broken and the bottom part was stuck in the tank. So I had my brother get a screwdriver and pop it open. There was no coolant inside.


We checked under the car to see if there was any sign of leakage (because it should have lasted until 240000km and it was only showing 180000km) and there wasn't. So my brother just bought some coolant, filled up my tank and I continued to drive my car. The red coolant light flickered on and off for the next couple of months and then it just stayed on. Then I decided that the light was probably broken.


Well, about two weeks ago my Dad had driven my car and asked if I had noticed that it wasn't heating up. I am clueless apparently so I said that I hadn't noticed. He told me that I should probably get the car checked out. Being the do-it-yourself girl that I am, I looked up on the internet, "my car won't heat up" and found that a lack of coolant was the most likely problem.




So two days ago (about a week after my Dad had talked to me about the car) I decided to check it out. I popped my hood, and bent down to see where the latch was and pried it open with very cold fingers (I could never figure out how to open the hood without looking so I always duck down to see what I am doing, I don't care if I look a little dumb). Then when I took the coolant lid off, the broken part underneath was really stuck. Luckily, I was in the church parking lot and one of the pastors at my church came out to give me a hand. He went and got a tool to pry the lid out and decided that I didn't need to put that stuck part back in and just screwed the top part back on, but sure enough, the coolant tank was completely empty.


Apparently driving around with no coolant wasn't a huge deal...because I had probably been doing so since the red symbol light came back on...which was probably about a month ago...the light is not broken after all!


Anyways, back to the story. Off I went with my friend and co-worker Jess to get coolant and a few other things for the church. When we came out of Wal-Mart with the coolant I sat in the car first to open the bottle. It had a lid kind of like a milk jug, with a tab and everything. So I began to pull at the tab, which was really thick and Jess said, "Use your key!"


So I grabbed my key and started to hack the tab saying, "It's just like a milk jug, except way harder to open!" When I finally cut through the tab I said, "Now which way do I pull this thing?" Then I realized that the lid had some instructions on the top that said, "PUSH THUMB ON TAB AND TURN TO OPEN." No wonder the tab was so thick...it wasn't meant to be torn after all...


Jess and I had to laugh, certainly a dumb blonde moment for the two of us. We can't read ok? Well, we can...we just don't sometimes...


Then we got outside and I (without mittens) crouched down to push the latch to open the hood. I had Jess open the coolant tank because she had mitts on and my hands were frozen. She read the lid on the coolant tank which said "DO NOT TOUCH WHEN ENGINE IS HOT." I quickly assured her that it was -30 degrees Celcius outside and so the cap would most likely not be hot. Then I opened the coolant bottle and realized that it had a foil seal on the top and Jess said, "Use your key!"


I quickly replied, "Yes, THAT is a good idea." So I peeled back the foil and began to pour in the coolant and, with a bit of spillage, it was full in no time. Jess and I hopped in the car and rejoiced at our triumph and laughed for a while at how ridiculous I am.


Oh and I must mention that I am going to get my car checked for coolant leaks because it is in fact leaking somewhere. I am smart enough to figure that out. :)


The End.

Stud Finding...

No, I am not talking about finding a male to "complete" me ;)

I am referring to my attempt to mount a shelf on my bedroom wall.

I am an organization-freak-wanna-be and so I wanted an extra bit of shelving to spruce up my bare walls.
So I went online and checked out the selection at Wal-Mart. All of their floating shelves claimed to be really easy to mount ON DRYWALL. At least...that's what I thought I read...don't really want to check again to make sure because of my pride :). Anyways, I found a nice white shelf that I liked and decided that I would go and buy it. Upon setting it on my bed and tearing open the plastic to read the instructions I noticed that the package contained two pairs of different sized screws, one pair significantly longer than the other. Then I read the instructions...yup...mhm...OH NOT STUDS! Yes...I needed to find two studs in my wall in order to properly mount my new shelf. Not impressed.

Why was I not impressed? Because my family does not own a stud finder. Nope...we have almost every other tool imaginable, but not a stud finder. So I asked my brother, an experienced dry-wall guy, how to find studs. He began tapping on my wall in an attempt to find the studs. The whole wall sounded the same to me...and I am not deaf (at least not all the time).  My brother explained that the wall really did sound the same because the guy who did our bathroom next door put extra insulation in the wall so when we tap on it, we can't tell where the studs are!

Great.

I really did not like the process I had to resort to...You see, when you attend Bible college and live in a dorm room with bare white walls, it drives you nuts after awhile so you begin to use tiny straight pins to secure memorabilia (or whatever else) to your walls. I discovered the several studs in my dorm wall super fast because the pins would not go in all the way no matter how hard I tried to hammer them...see where this is going?

Yup.

I hammered probably no less than thirty pins into my wall in an attempt to find two studs. But that's not the worst part of the process, no...because as soon as I attempted to mount my shelf into the studs I found, I realized that one of the studs was not a stud at all. I just didn't hammer the pin in hard enough I guess...

So there I am ripping one mount out of my wall and hammering even more pins to find a real stud...After probably at least 20 more pins I hit something solid, and I put two pins in it just to make sure.

Then I proceeded to successfully mount my shelf. Then I got some putty and filled the misplaced screw-holes in my shelf and wall, not to mention all the pin-holes. Then I sanded and painted over the putty to complete the job. Thankfully, it looks good.

I really don't want to go through that process again. Next time, I shall brave the cold to go back out to buy a stud finder. 

Dreaming

Oh to dream...sometimes I dream that I am a princess in a faraway land somewhere.

A magnificent castle in the middle of a hill that is covered in thick, lush, soft green grass.

The kind of grass that you can lay on and leave body imprints in when you get up again.

I spend many a day lying in that grass, looking up at the clear blue sky, thinking about many things.

Thinking about flowers, horses, music, dresses, dancing, feasting, love...

Knowing that one day...my Prince will come.

Some might assume that I am talking about just any old prince...

                                         but no...I am waiting for THE Prince.

He will come again, riding on a white stallion, ready to take me with Him to His kingdom.

That day will come sooner than I expect.

For I do not know what each day holds.

There are many people living in my castle, there is also small village at the bottom of the hill filled with folk.

It is a joyous place for the most part. Sometimes wolves and bears come out of the nearby forests and disturb the peace, wreaking havoc wherever they go. Things are usually damaged or lost...people too.

The Prince has already defeated the wolves and bears, even the puma. They hold no power over Him. So even though the battle continues, I know that He has already won the victory.

Soon it will end...when the Prince returns.

There will be a new kingdom to call home, one with no danger, no fear.

Little do I know about the place I live. It seems safe, peaceful, wonderful even.

I know that the King has given me everything that I have, and I am thankful...but I am not good.

Without even thinking I sometimes worship the things in my castle, even the castle itself. Spending more time with my attention on what I call my belongings than gaining wisdom from the King.

I even go for long periods of time without thinking about the King at all...shame is a familiar feeling.

The King cannot be described fully. I just know that He is love, He is holy, He is just, and He has chosen me to be His child.

He knows me inside and out. He knows everything I think, hears everything I say, sees everything I do. Nothing is hidden from the King.

My Father wants me to spend time with Him, to know His perfect heart.

But I have never seen Him. I know He's there, though.

Everything I know about the King is in His Book.

I don't spend a lot of time reading the Book. Although I know that I need to read in order to learn about my Father. But I have trouble understanding the Book sometimes.

That's why the King's Spirit lives within me, to help me understand. To teach me, to give me wisdom and to give me power to defeat the wolves and the bears.

When I am listening for the King and trying my best to focus on learning more about Him and spending time in His Book, I feel full of life, a positive energy flows through me.

But the wolves and bears tire me out sometimes and I forget the positive energy that spending time with the King gives. Those are the harder days. Laziness sets in.

My Father always picks me up again. Sometimes I have to wait a long time, but He always comes.

And my Prince Jesus will come soon.

Christian Crayons

Oh the things you think of a typical work day as an intern at church...

Jesus Blue - You know, that light colored blue that we have all seen Jesus pictured in.

Mary Blue - Slightly darker than Jesus Blue.

Pillar of Fire - Bright orange.

Garden of Eden - Green of course.

Possessed Pig Pink - A dangerous color.

Bloody Nile - Deep red.

Lydia Purple - Just as it sounds.

Holy Spirit Mist - A soft grey.

Presence of God - White, pure white.

Sin - Blackest black.

God Does NOT Change!

The following is an excerpt from my work day today, enjoy!

Me: Jess! You colored Jesus's scarf thingy red! It's supposed to be blue!

Jess: Hey, I looked it up on Google, it was red ok?

Mel: Jesus probably changed his clothes you know.

Me: No way! God never changes! Jesus wears blue!

Mel: Well He must have changed His clothes, I mean, surely after Mary poured perfume on Him!

Me: Nah! Why wouldn't he want to smell like delicious perfume all the time?

Mel: Well when He and the disciples had to stay at a person's house all together, in bunk beds...

Me: Who said anything about bunk beds? They probably slept on the floors and such.

Mel: But Jesus was a carpenter...

Me: So you're saying that Jesus decided to just build them a bunch of bunk beds at whoever's house they stayed with? What?

Mel: Well you never know!

Me: Now what were we talking about in the first place? Oh yeah, Jesus wears blue...God does NOT change!

Now there's a wonderful window into a typical work day conversation with my office-mates :)

The Importance of Organization

- You appear to have it all together.
- You can find your things when you need them.
- You are proud to show off your living space to others.
- You have time for all the things on your to-do list.
- Your priorities are straightened out.
- You are punctual.
- You make friends (as they ask you to help them get organized).
- You have time for relaxation.
- You have no rotting food in your refrigerator (or any other place for that matter).
- You can find all of your socks.
- You get enough sleep.
- You are dependable.
- You are (likely) someone's role model.
- You have no spiders hiding in the clutter in your room.

Nuff said! I am going to clean my room thoroughly tomorrow! 

Carry On

Oh life! Reality hits you hard bro! No jokes! I have been officially sick for three and a half weeks!
Usually when I get any kind of cold or flu it only lasts for three days tops.
This time I got hit with something crazy.

What seemed like a plain old runny nose turned into a headache, plus my right ear plugged up, then I got a bit of a cough happening...and I've had all those symptoms for a full three weeks! I'm done!

Now I try to avoid going to the doctor because I think my immune system is amazing....apparently it's not as awesome as I try and make it out to be. Ok...I admit it...I went to the doctor yesterday. Shocker there! I was in his office for a total of five minutes before he concluded that I had a sinus infection and sent me off to pick up my meds.

Now I have to wait probably close to another whole week before all my symptoms completely disappear. I hate being sick...but I must carry on...

Single

There is a certain feeling of freedom when you are single.
I did not fully recognize it until I was dating...

Dating is hard work.
Trying to figure out whether or not to marry the person that you are dating.
It can take weeks, months, or even years, depending on how things go.
For me, it was just shy of a year.
The first time, anyways...

Breaking up is hard.
Especially when you know that you've made a really good friend.
We'll never be that close again...

It's hard to see the reality of a relationship while you are in it.
I learned that lesson.
God gives us the Body of Christ for a reason.
Proverbs 12:15...

I thought I was doing the right thing.
Holding onto something even though everything inside said it was wrong.
I was stubborn, thinking I could change him.
Perhaps I could manipulate him to meet my wants.
No...

He can only be who God made him to be.
A nice guy, a great friend.
Just not the right kind of guy for me to marry.
And that's ok...

I'm me.
I'm free.
I'm trusting my forever love, Jesus.