very fine grind

Catching up!

2006-11-02T09:59:00.000-04:00

Hey team internet, it's been awhile. Things have been quite busy here in freddie beach with school, church and well life in general. In particular I have been preoccupied with my Thesis Proposal. I am writing a undergraduate honors thesis for my department Great Idea's.

I just submitted my proposal for a thesis on Charles Williams Descent into Hell. A complex supernatural thriller about love, fact, salvation and hell. It's one of the most challenging and inspiring novels I have ever read. My thesis is on imagination and faith and how art can teach people about God. This is what I feel Williams is arguing in this book. It's a great read, a little heavy, and very challenging. There are not very many Christian novels out there that have the powerful impact as Descent into Hell. Check it out!

So, Ryan and I have been hard at work. The fall has been filled with a ton of homework and playing with the TMP band. But now that I'm finished my proposal I'm trying to catch up with regular life a bit. So here are a few highlights from the fall.

Our amazing Landlord gave us this giant zucchini from her summer time garden in the country. It sat on my counter for about a two weeks, then I made quiche about of half of it, and now the rest of it is still in the fridge, it's pretty gross.

Here is a pretty fuzzy picture of Sarah Harmer. She played the Playhouse at the end of September. It was one of the best concerts we've been to in a long time. Ryan and I are very romantic about Sarah Harmer because our first real date was a Harmer concert. She is one of the most down to earth and talented artist in Canada. Check her out, her newest Album is sweet and very bluegrass inspired (psss... I love bluegrass ....)

more to come ...

Long Time No post. Sorry, so here's the down low ...

2006-09-16T16:40:00.000-03:00

Sorry Internet, it has been too long since I posted and I'm sure that the world wide web was missing my pathetic contribution. So Much has happened! Here's a little break down:

GOT MARRIED!
Thanks Micah and Katie, this picture says it all. We had a fabulous day in Saint John on the 15th of July: Sunny, breezy, birds where singing, people where laughing and nobody threw-up! I did however step on a hot hairstraighter and cried after I got all my pretty make-up on. Other then that no hitches. We where very blessed by everyone who could be there to witness to our holy union. One of the post cards that our guests wrote on said that it was the first wedding that they had gone to where they felt the presence of the Holy Spirit - that postcard was my favorite gift!

THE SUMMER WAS HOT AND BUSY!
but fun, Ryan and I spent the first part of our honeymoon in St. Martins by the sea ... ooohh, cool caves, light houses and miniature horse farms ... More about that later. Then we drove up river, in Ryan's Dad's seabring convertible (oh yah!) and spent a couple days in a little cottage by the SJ River. The weather was great and Ryan and I had the most fun just doing things that we enjoy together which was mostly reading, listening to music, driving around and doing nothing.

Check out this cool shot of Ryan driving. It was so awesome to drive along the coast and up the river valley with the top down! After a relaxing and yet short week we were back to our jobs and lives and our new zany apartment! Thanks to everyone who participated in our wedding/marriage with their gifts, talents, prayers and hands. Thing would not had been so pleasant if YOU were not involved!

This is dedicated to the ones I love

2006-05-17T22:50:00.000-03:00

These next few post are dedicated to the Petersons. Yep, it was their blog that converted me to blogger and one of the highlights of visiting Micah and Katie's blog is the FOOD. Holy cow, Food is a major part of the Peterson/Stewart experience. Katie once made our staving band a delicious meal for seven dollars! She's incredible and an inspiration to aspirering wives. So, inspired by Petersons, I bring the Yummy life of Kristy G and her homies!

To begin, one of the Fam's favorite food experiences is Birthdays with lots of cake and ice cream. Here we see Leah giving Dave a big birthday thankyou kiss for helping her blow out her candles.

Leah specifically requested chocolate with white icing cake for her 19th birthday. So we celebrated in style like we do every Sunday at the Crowe House with HOT DOGS! Woot! Our shady tradition.

TMP Baptism and Free Swim

2006-04-22T22:36:00.000-03:00

Things have been really movin' and shakin' at the The Meeting Place, we've been pressing in and God has called us into a year of Advance. So, there is no better way to kick off a new season of advancement then with a Baptism! One of the many candidates was my dear little cousin Laura. Laura if unique, courageous, and a very confident ten year old. She makes me proud. Here is Laura and her best friend/another cousin Hannah- dead in their old sin lives.

Laura&Hannah:Dead

Hannah had the privilege of being in the water with Laura while she was baptized! And now here is Laura raised up in her new life in Christ:

It was a very powerful night. Many people from our church and other church communities came out to be witnesses and to pray for the publicly-devoted. It was also powerful to see such diverse group profess their faith. Mothers and daughters, soon to be mothers, Women, children, even a man from the Drop in who has become a huge testimony to the church. It is a delight to see people following the way of Jesus.

Romans 6:3-5 3Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. 5If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection.

oh yeah, and we capped off the night with a free swim, if was funny to see everyone jump in after the baptisms where done. Laura's little brother Dave who is still four (and my best friend next to Ryan and Courtney) went down the big yellow watersilde. It was day full of milestones!

Coming Attractions ... Coffee and Christ

2006-04-19T16:15:00.000-03:00

This picture cracks me up! So Hey internet team, I'm posting to give the heads up on many future post. So much has happened in the last few weeks, and now that exams are over I can catch everyone up on what they are obviously missing out on in the fabulous life of Kristy! HA! So yeah, stay tune, everyone can look foward to post on TMP kids and baptism, Deeper and Greg Russinger, Art Chruch and Wedding Maddness Countdown!

Funny!

2006-04-09T18:46:00.000-03:00

Many Spelling mistakes

2006-04-03T23:25:00.000-03:00

I am pretty sleepy and therefore there will be many spelling mistakes ... You're mercy is required, but I just had way to much on my mind to not put some thoughts out there and connect with those that I don't get to speak to everyday.
I get a weird feeling when the end of the school year is upon me. I get restless and full of anticipation. The next season of my life holds SO much that I want so badly to rush head. New job, wedding, marriage and my new life as Mrs.Short!

Spring is here, getting it in bits and pieces is a blessing and Easter is just around the corner. Hooray for new life, new resurrected life! Throw away the old and welcome in the new. What a promise! If everyone is in need of some inspiration, get your ears on A collision by David Crowder Band, and or check out some amazing sermons on Lent, up Lent, from my other favorite church link, Mars Hill (not Seattle but Michigan!) : http://www.mhbcmi.org/listen/index.php

alright more to come, about Leahs Birthday and lil'Dave's take on where babies come from ... Stay tuned!

A Prayer

2006-03-13T22:27:00.000-04:00

This is a prayer that my mom is praying over me today, she just emailed it to me, and now I am praying it for all of you!

Ephesians 3:14-21 (The Message)
14My response is to get down on my knees before the Father, 15this magnificent Father who parcels out all heaven and earth. 16I ask him to strengthen you by his Spirit--not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength-- 17that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in. And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, 18you'll be able to take in with all Christians the extravagant dimensions of Christ's love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! 19Live full lives, full in the fullness of God.
20God can do anything, you know--far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.

21Glory to God in the church!
Glory to God in the Messiah, in Jesus!
Glory down all the generations!
Glory through all millennia! Oh, yes!

Amen, Be Blessed, Good Night!

The Amazon came and Went

2006-02-25T13:27:00.000-04:00

I had written a delightful post about my best friend Courtney's visit a weekend or two ago, however when I tried to post it my internet lost the connection to the server and my exciting post was lost! It was very sad, tears might have been shed. So, any way here are the highlights of her visit. For those of you who don't know, an Amazon is a woman who's size is suitable for jungle life ie. swinging from tree to tree or scooping unsuspecting tourists/children on to her back. This is my BEST friend in the universe COURTNEY SPENCER, she's an Amazon.

Courtney is unashamedly her self and she brings that out in the people around her. She is possiblely the funniest person I know. She will still be telling me jokes on my death bed, and I'll be laughin' and coughin'. We had a blast going to youth group at TMP, church on Sunday ( One Way. Jesus Your're the only one that I could live for...) Class with me on monday (yep, Courtney went to class with me on her week off, now that's love!) An impromptu dinner party with my Freddie Town BF Megan, my sister Leah, the Ol' Fiance and the newly arrived Ausi Dan (if you see an Asian skateboarder with an Australian accent help him find a good cup of coffee!) We had a riot reading Archie Comics out loud to each other, a favorite pass time of Courtney and I, and eating Rice, Stirfry, egg rolls, and strawberry short cake, courtesy of Ryan! Every thing was soooo yummy, ( This food list goes our to the Petersons who rock the food descriptions on their blog weekly!)

On our last day Courtney and I went on a date to the Blue Door where we were deceived by the titles on the menu that made food sound more epic then it was, every thing was good, but needless to say, the Perogie pizza was not nearly as exciting as we had imagined. It was a sad moment handing Courtney her skateboard and waving to her as she got on the bus, but she'll be back, Amazons always return to their own!

Our First out of town Gig ... Camp Tulakadik

2006-02-15T18:10:00.000-04:00

This past weekend our TMP/Fuel Youth Band played our first out of town gig at Camp Tulakadik in Norton N.B. Now you might think that Norton is not the most glorious place to take a road trip to, however the weekend was full of fun and fellowship something that we all needed and relished in having. Playing Talakadik was like coming home for me because I went there as a camper in the 90's and not much has changed.

We were asked to come by friends of my bandmate Scott who are the new directors of the camp this year. Camp T. Has a full time Director so, a bunch of us stayed in John and Alisha's cozy little camp apartment, which was nicely decorated I might add.

We stayed up late on the nights talking with John and Alisha who had plenty of funny and crazy camp stories to tell. All of us in the band, except for the fiance have grown up working at camps so it was great to go back and swap stories. Scott, Joell and the boys enjoyed playing the games with the kids and Ryan and I were able to go on a walk despite the FREEZING weather. One of the more hilarious points of the week was a meal/game called trench meal. The premise is to get from the trenches to the meal cards taped on the floor at the other end of the meal hall, while your are being bombed by bombs or rashens ... here's come pic's of the action!!!

Seen here is some great shots of Joell and Scott nailing these middle schoolers with pillows made especially for the game! The weekend all in all was a blast; the worship was good and challenging, many of these kids had not seen a band like ours and by the end of the weekend they were really able to join in and we truly worshiped in spirit and in truth! I look forward to having another chance to serve at camp, and the other chance to serve other groups with our ministry. Check out Camp Tulakadik at www.camptulakadik.com . It's a great site with lots of info. Camping is a unique ministry. Thanks yawl!

Word!

2006-02-08T20:08:00.000-04:00

hey internet friends, i have been resently listening to some excellent sermons by Mark Driscoll from Mars Hill Chruch in Seattle. They have a great website and a ministry team that desires to preach about Jesus Christ and what he really means for human life. You can download the sermons for free! I listen to them in the morning while I get ready for school, eatin' my breakfast, or putting on some make-up .... check it out. There have been some really powerful messages on marriage, sex, and right now Mark is preaching through 1 Corinthians. Their website is: www.marshillchurch.org just click, menu, dowloads and they have ALL their sermons broken down into little sub-topics ... alright Word up Friends! Literally!

Leah gets a Tattoo

2006-01-29T19:11:00.000-04:00

Ladies and gentlemen, this is my fabulous little sister Leah Joye, who on January 28th experienced a right of passage like none other! Yesterday afternoon, I nervously walked with Leah to the ever popular White Lotus, where she got her first TATTOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Leah had made the appointment for five and we showed up a little later early to meet up with the hardly less then fabulous Justin who was also getting a tattoo. While I was the only one not getting a tattoo I was noticeably more nervous then these two cucumbers. My nerves where mostly brought in bad a bad dream I had a few nights before where I had gone to the tattoo parlor with Leah but in my dream when they fired up the needle I looked over and he was about to stab my baby, to which I screamed - "don't stab my baby!" However Leah reassured me that getting a tattoo was not like stabbing a baby.
So after filling out some sheets and talking to one of the tattoo moms who had come with her pierced and tattooed children, Sean, the tattoo artist was ready - Leah wanted to go first!

Leah was calm,cool,collected and except for the occasional "I feel hurty face!" She was tough as nails. I thought that she would probably cry, but she said it wasn't that bad ... but Sean said that he might cry because his eyes where dry from not blinking ... too much concentration! HA!
It didn't take long at all and the whole thing was a little anti-climatic except for the choice 90's music blarring in the room (Smashing Pumpkins kept the moment pretty epic!) When it was all said and done it looked REALLY GREAT, and turned out just how leah wanted.

Up next Justin!!!!

Oh Justin that big manly man, was getting his third tattoo and wasn't a bit nervous, however he did make a few more faces then Leah did! Justin said that it hurt a lot more then the ones he has on his back. His tattoo was of a pair of scissors with legs with high heels instead of legs that he found in a Scissor sister CD jacket. It was amazing and turned out so well!!! All in all, it was a pretty fast hour. Sean cleaned them up, they paid and he sent us home with little tattoo care treat bags ... Complete with stickers!!!!

So in the end what Tattoo did Leah Joye get? A Pirate ship? A Snake? A Winking Skull? Noooooooooooooooope!

It's a HEART. She drew it her self and I feel that it's very appropriate. Leah always did wear her heart on her sleeve! It still needs to heal, which will take about a week of being Saran wrapped and taped. It will be fine for next week when she goes home for a week to do some work experience where our parents will see it! YIKES!

Sorry for those of you who wanted to see Justins Tattoo, I'll try to get some pic next week! And for those of you who want to know, Justins shirt says: "Models Wanted".

combination meal time words!?!

2006-01-28T15:18:00.000-04:00

lupper
linner
Brunch

Ones that just don't work: Supper+dinner+ Sinner!

Faerie Queene

2006-01-28T14:07:00.000-04:00

The faerie Queene is a poetic allegory written by Edmund Spencer. It is dedicated to the "Virgin Queene"; the first Queen Elizabeth and is a supposed re-interpretation of the King Arthur Myth; a moral mythological account of Englands Royal history. This book is broken into 6 books that follows the adventures of Knights who encompass the Virtures of Holiness, Temerpence, Chastity, Friendship, Justice. They are dealt with in a very complecated story of queen's, Knights, witches, dragons and gods. Each virtue is looked at through both a Classical and Christian lens, which at times creates a strong contrast between the two accounts. Even though this is the one of the most difficult books I've read because of the language (Middle English - WORSE THEN OLD ENGLISH, ie, Cantabury Tales!)it does however deal with the Christian life, putting on the full armor of God, and how the contemplative life requires our action or faith and works. This type of writing was very popular in the days when Church and State held about the same about of power. Other great allegorical poems include: Dante's Divine comedy and Milton's Paradise Lost.

C.S. Lewis and the other members of the Inklings ( made popular again but the release of LOTR and Narnia) attempted to write the modern Christian allegory with such works as Narnia and Descent into Hell. In our new day an age where it's about the literal "facts", we have little time of poetry, which by its' nature forces the reader to figure out and reflect on what actually is being said or revealed.

Is there a poetic work that you have read that taught you something about your faith, even if it wasn't a "Christian" allegory?

2006-01-24T18:59:00.000-04:00

Hey Internet Elite, My apologies for starting the blog and not committing. My life the last couple of months has been run over by so many responsibilities with School, planning a wedding and reading really large old books that I haven't had enough coherent thoughts to put them on the internet. And As of resent I have been struggle with the idea of the blog and it's proper use.

I had a blog that I started in Grade 12 and like most teenagers it was full of self lament and bad poetry, so I abondoned the project. But, I like the idea of staying connected as my closest relationships are actually ones that I do not get to communicate with often. I also love the opertunity to dialogue. But I would like to stay committed to the sub-heading of this blog by always focusing or atleast mensioning those things that are excellent, praise worthy and a result of our Joy! So, my interent friends, please keep me accountable to the very serious business of heaven!

So a short update:

My best man Ryan and I were engaged on the Christmas break and have set the date for JULY 15 2006, only a 171 days to go. Yep the wedding countdown has began. There's a lot to plan. I'm desparetely trying to keep things simple and small, because, well we are just plan poor. Plus, between Ryan and I our family alone is like 1000 people, so please don't be offended if you don't get the offical invite.

School has been really great this year, but still super busy. My Great Ideas Course (http://http://people.stu.ca/~giss/Main/index.htm) this semester is on Love and Friendship! Woot, it's been great discussing my two reasons for living in class. We are currently reading Edmund Spensers Fearie Queen; a complex Christain/Aristotilian Allogory/Poem writen in Middle English ... it's also 1055 pages long. I'm not kidding!

I am now an offical member of The Meeting Place Church (http://www.tmpchurch.ca)! I've gone there for more then a year or so now and it's been my absolute pleasure and challange to play on a worship team since the fall. God is doing huge things in our worship at TMP. His name is being exalted, his word is being prophesied and hearts are turning back to him! What a blessing!

That's the short of it for now. My little joy report today was getting a ride from a wonderful ladie I go to school with who was headed down town to pick up her little girl from school. We had a lovely chat, and I love seeing the inside of peoples car/lives!

welcome to the very fine grind

2005-11-15T20:08:00.000-04:00

this site was inspired by a desire for truth, my unbelievably fantastic group of friends and family and the million cups of coffee that the provided the time to comtemplate all that is God-given and delightful, all that is tough and on the verge of despair, and the inbetween everyday mundane and regular. Feel free to participate!