The Ox Bringeth Change

Besides being the year of the Ox, 2009 will be the year of change for me. (No, I was not born during the year of the Ox.)

I started this blog to record my adventures with the family I live with, the McQueens. Over time, their cars and appliances broke down less and less, and I had less stories to tell. I started drawing attention to articles I had stumbled across. Then I started displaying my Coffee Cup Art.

Lately I had been thinking I should blog more about my life. Last week someone told me they thought so too. They wanted to read about what was going on in my life. I just had to decide what, in my life, I would blog about. I can continue to blog about the McQueens when as stories arise. I can't really blog about work. The rest of my life mostly consists of sitting on a bus and/or reading.

But this year may be different. I've decided to do some church hopping. When you move to a new city, and you want to find a new church, you should look around. When looking for a new church you need to look for three things:

1. Good theology
2. Opportunities for you to serve.
3. Opportunities for you to be served

When I moved to Sault Ste. Marie I did a bit of church hopping. Not much. It didn't take long for me to find my church and to know that's where I belonged. I just knew.

When I moved to Ottawa, I chose my church based on the fact Pastor Jack was the Pastor. I haven't really felt like it was my church for quite a while. Even though I got membership there, it was more out of momentum than anything else. It could be the best church in Ottawa for me, or it could be the worst. I simply don't know. I don't know because I haven't looked around.

I've only been to two other churches in the area. One is way out in Kanata. I liked that church, but it's so far away! The other is highly populated, implying lots of people like it. Every time I've gone I've been thoroughly unimpressed. It's the church everyone goes to when they leave their church. I don't think I'll be going there. Leaving your Ottawa church and going to that church is so cliché. I hate the thought of being cliché. I also don't want to go to a church full of disgruntled former members and adherents of other churches.

2009 is also the year I'll be moving out of the McQueen's house...I think. I love the McQueens. They've been great to live with, but I'm getting really tired of living in Embrun. It's so far away from everything! I work over 50 km away from home. At the end of the day I rarely feel like going back into town. Nor do I have the time. Then, by the weekend, after driving 600 km (or spending 20 hours on a bus) I don't feel like going in then either. My social life has really suffered.

Living with the McQueens is cost-effective, which is important when I bit off more than I could chew when I bought my car, and when I want to finish my flight training (tres expensive).

Robin, the McQueen's youngest daughter, is finishing High School this year. Once she leaves, the McQueens will likely move. There's no sense in having a house large enough for a whole family when it's just the two of them....and possibly me.

I will try to stay with the McQueens for as long as I can. When the time comes to move out, I think I'll blog about my home-search. Maybe some of you familiar with Ottawa can give me hints like "Don't live there! You'll need Kevlar wallpaper!" or "You should move there. It already has Kevlar wallpaper."