Mudpies and other important things

It has been awhile since a work update. But I have been keeping busy in the new year. I am told we are done processing peat cores (although they have told me that before and still found peat for me to process.)

I have now moved on to processing samples from an outside client- the National Forest Inventory or NFI. This week it involved the very important process of making mudpies. Seriously, I took stored soil samples out of the freezer, placed them in pie pans, and will soon be putting them in the oven. Who would have known that my childhood propensity to play in the dirt would actually be a transferable job skill? 

Mud isn't the only thing we "bake" in our drying ovens. I also have been busy transferring numerous vegetation, woody debris, and moss samples into paper bags for drying. Fortunately we only deal with the Ontario samples in our lab, but there are sample sites from all over the country. The study provides researchers with a very detailed idea of the forest biomass across the country. Also once we have sent the required data to the NFI scientists and they are done with the samples, we take the samples and analyze them to get an understanding of the chemical composition of the samples as well.

The scope and breadth of the project is immense and I am lucky to be a part of it. (Or at least that is what I tell myself to get through the tedious sorting of samples and sample prep.)

Margins and Sonnet XIX

Sonnet XIX: When I Consider How My Light is Spent

John Milton

When I consider how my light is spent

Ere half my days in this dark world and wide,

And that one talent which is death to hide,

Lodg'd with me useless, though my soul more bent

To serve therewith my Maker, and present

My true account, lest He returning chide,

"Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?" 

I fondly ask. But Patience, to prevent

That murmur, soon replies: "God doth not need

Either man's work or his own gifts: who best

Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state 

Is kingly; thousands at his bidding speed

And post o'er land and ocean without rest: 

They also serve who only stand and wait."

I have always loved this poem by John Milton. Long considered a reflection on the author's own encroaching blindness, I like the poem for the way it reminds me of the proper scale in which to view the importance of my work. Particularly I have been reminded of it because of the current sermon series my pastor is on. (If you want to listen to the podcasts of the sermon you can find them  here when they get posted) My pastor has been talking about margins- basically encouraging us to make margins (extra space) in our life, whether it is in the area of time, finance, emotions etc. This week he was focusing on time. He mentioned how so often we brag about being busy. We fill our lives with so much stuff- be it work, chores, sports events or other commitments. We stress ourselves out, then we brag about it. When I was a student I did this alot. Casual conversations frequently seemed like we were competing for who could be the busiest person. 

         

"I am so tired! I only got two hours of sleep last night, I had to pull an all-nighter to finish my paper." 

"I know what you mean I have 2 assignments, 3 lab reports, one essay and 3 midterms all due this week!"

 "Yeah, I am swamped with homework too, I have to clean the kitchen and take out the garbage, plus I am taking a group of people downtown tonight to volunteer and need to find rides for all of us."

I think often we have an inflated sense of the value of our own work. As Christians we think the only way to please God is if we have a schedule so jam packed with things we barely have time to squeeze in eating and sleeping, much less spending time in prayer. Throughout my highschool and university life I often struggled with guilt thinking I wasn't balancing school, work, relationships and leisure properly. Often I would put the most emphasis on my homework because after all, that was why I was in school. 

This poem screams a reminder at all busy workaholics and students struggling under a load of worry, stress and guilt. "God does not need either man's work or his own gifts!!" God does not need our work, things will be fine if we need to set it down, or are unable to finish. Our very ability to work was given to us by God in the first place and He has many more able to step in if needed. This was a hard lesson for this over-achieving perfectionist to learn. My current job allows me to leave work at the office when I go home. At first this was such a foreign concept to me. I felt like I needed to have some homework of some kind- perhaps reading an article or doing a calculation. But soon I came to realize that showing up to work, and doing my best, was enough! I could then leave it all at work and go home and enjoy, I didn't have to beat myself up or stress myself out. Now I can joyfully tell friends I have time to hang-out, I can spend time on hobbies, and don't feel guilty when all I want to do is watch some tv. I have to admit, I don't always use my time the best, and still find myself occasionally wishing I had more time, or staying up too late; but I have margins and it is wonderful!

Simple Pleasures- Winter

Got the Winter Blues? Not me! But here is some tips for those that do.

A list of Simple Pleasures for the Winter:

- a warm cup of hot chocolate, tea, or a latte

- ginger snap cookies

- blankets!

- working internet

- skype call with a good friend

- mindless tv.

- an hour long cross country ski or snowshoe

- fluffy flaked snow

- snow angels, snow men, snowforts- you are never too old!

I have been enjoying the little bit of snow we have had here. All in all the winter weather has been rather wimpy this year so I have had to make the best of the little that does exist. Enjoyed a great ski this weekend. I haven't been X-country skiing for long. I did a little when I was a child, and I was able to do a bunch last year when I borrowed a pair of skis from a friend. This year I got a pair of my own and want to get good use out of them- if only the weather will continue to cooperate. 

For those of you who have more mild weather at the moment and don't have any snow replace the snowy weather items with one of these: 

- don a pair of rubber boots and a raincoat and go puddle jumping!

- grab a pair of binoculars and see what kind of birds are in your neighbourhood

- re-engineer the water pathways that cascade down your gravel driveway by digging trenches and building dams....

                          ......... oh wait! What's that Dad?...... I'm not supposed to do that last one?- OOPS!

If you have fun with any of the above options or have any to add, feel free to leave a comment and tell me.

O Tidings of Comfort and Joy!

So I know Christmas and New Years have come and gone but I was too busy enjoying them at the time to bother with a blog post. So now that I am back, settling into my routine, and seem to have some internet connectivity; here are my thoughts.

My title seems rather ironic to me. The news I received this Christmas season did not necessarily connote comfort and joy. My uncertain future, the poor health of an uncle, and the suicide of a young woman whom I had taught drama in highschool (and a sibling of one of my classmates) weighed heavy on my mind. On top of it all was global news: deaths of dictators, wars and rumours of wars, environmental destruction etc. These topics are not joyful. Yet in the midst of it all I was able to feel a comfort. For as we celebrated the first coming of Jesus- as a tiny baby in a manger, we look forward to His second coming as a strong and conquering king. We also eagerly anticipate the establishment of His kingdom- where mental illness, corruption, and violence have no power.

It is fitting that New Years falls so close to Christmas. After a reminder of Christ second coming we are given a fresh start: a New Year. New Years are full of hope and promise.We can set aside all the hurts, sorrows and pains of the past year and look forward to a new year of hope and promise.

I know we celebrate New Years at a different time of year than the Jewish people who’s New Year’s celebration is Rosh Hashanah (typically falling in September or October.) Yet their idea of New Year’s celebration is intriguing. I won't go into too much detail- you can look it up yourself and i strongly suggest you do. However their celebrations involve a period of self examination, sacrifices, and the symbolic casting off of sins. It actually last for several days and traditionally involves numerous ceremonial sacrifices (when I read the Old Testament accounts of how these holidays were to be celebrated to my housemates in university I remember we had several funny comments about all the animal sacrifices) culminating in Yom Kippur- the Day of Atonement. This new years practice of self examination and purification is a good reminder for us as well. We don’t need to make animal sacrifices- Christ has come and made the sacrifice for us already. But we can examine ourselves and cast off our sin. We have been given a fresh start so let’s use it. Let’s work to build the promised kingdom that is here but not yet in completeness.