Life is a Gift

I will discipline myself to keep this blog going daily (hmm...we'll see)

Lots of thoughts today;

thinking about my selfish needs
thinking about Ben and Noah who are both ill with ear infections and croop (what is going on?)
thinking about how I changed plans with the boys cause of the illnesses
thinking about how we spent a day inside when it was so nice outside (that was hard)

then heard the news of Randy Pausch passing away..his story is very inspirational
then read the blog of a friend of ours, Sergio, who was in a terrible accident about 3 weeks ago
We keep praying for Sergio for continued healing and strength

Every moment is a gift
I'm doing my best to live each moment to the fullest - challenging, but worth it

The Day my Two Year Old Son was Scared of Me!

Tuesday, March 11

Another Typical tuesday or so I thought:
staff meetings
meeting people
thinking, alot of thinking
planning

For the first time in a long time Sherilyn phones in sick to work.
I come home, Noah won't come near me. As the evening progresses, he keeps a distance
A few times I try to walk forward to embrace him - he screams and runs
Accidentally, Noah falls over my leg and he's done for the rest of the night.
Sherilyn and I have no idea why he acted this way.
Maybe he was just having a bad day!

Sometimes my spiritual walk is like that
Sometimes I don't want to look at God in the eye
Sometimes when He looks at me I want to run away
Sometimes I just want to keep a distance because of how I am feeling

Yesterday, I attended a class at Horizon College.
The class was on New Testament Texts
The prof went on to describe the authenticity and historicity of the texts
What confidence we can place in these texts that are authentic
What confidence we can place in Christ who orchestrates these divine moments.

Eventually Noah will let me embrace him again
Eventually I will walk even closer to my God and have greater confidence!

The 10 to 5 Factor!

What a joy it is to take some time to reflect and celebrate!
TODAY we celebrate Jordan:

19 years ago today born at approx 10 min to 5
came 7 weeks early
many challenges in the beginning
but we prayed without ceasing
as the years progressed
Jordan made us laugh, cry and at times be angry
Great skill at throwing toys down the stairs
fun partner who would help me in the garden
passionate about hockey
played some basketball
eventually would love directing and acting
committed to Christ and the church
great big brother
stood up for his brother Chad at school one day
now learning about the responsibility of life
hope his life is blessed
trust our love will always grow deeper
Happy Birthday Jordan!

It's minus 21 - do you want a slurpee?

Just had a great chat with Tim Beech at Tim Hortons....Tim is a professor at Horizon College. Again, I am challenged to use my brain - to become intelligent - to think - to be relevant. The church is a wonderful place yet so many don't understand it or get hurt by it.
I am inspired to help the church become not only a part of this day and age - but to lead society.
I am inspired to do my best so the church can become a major influence!

When I walked back to the church from the Tim Hortons (5 min walk) - my face, ears and head were all hurting from the minus 21 weather. I was walking carefully on the parking lot which is covered in ice because I did not want to fall and break my nose again. Anyhow, when I was walking back alot of thoughts were going through my mind.

The greatest thought though - how thankful I am that someone from academia spent some time with me and had a great chat. Today was overwelming with duties that had to get done, but ended significantly with a relationship building encounter.

And no, I did not win anything (again) with the Roll up the Rim to win..maybe next time!

The Big Give

The ability to give.
I love giving of my time and resources to others. Just having the knowledge of affecting someone's life for the positive is incredible.
As Christ followers, are we not to be the most generous people on the earth?
That question concerns me. As a pastor I feel like all I hear sometimes is what people want for themselves etc.

Sherilyn and I were watching Oprah's show THE BIG GIVE tonight. We pretty much cried through the whole thing. One of my favorite stories is the one where they helped the lady who has created a great community for people with Down Syndrome. Sherilyn and I sometimes get weary because we're constantly giving to our kids or the church. When you get weary it's easy to think of the negatives. Anyhow, after watching the show I am more inspired now than ever before to remain focused and keep giving to the best of my ability.

This past week Sherilyn and I were on the receiving end of a wonderful gift. The big give to us was someone sent Jordan to Saskatoon for a surprise visit with us. We have so enjoyed the past six days with Jordan. Benjamin especially developed an incredible bond with Jordan. We see this as God's provision and we are so thankful for the time this past week. A huge thank you to Pastor Barry and Ramona Maurer (Children's Pastors in Kelowna) for this awesome gift. Their generosity has reaffirmed some things in my life and most importantly reminded me that people out there are living authentic Christ-like lives.

The family pic above was taken on Sherilyn's birthday on March 1. Thank you for your prayers. We are inspired more than ever before to give to others!

The Love of Life vs. the Grind of Life

This is me attempting to climb up the Grouse Grind in North Vancouver.



At this point, I was already experiencing alot emotions:
exhaustion, begging for mercy, trapped, wanted to give up
Fortunately, the friends around me that day kept encouraging and feeding me all their snacks to keep me energized. It worked - I made it to the top of the mountain.
What a sense of accomplishment! What a sense of love and appreciation for my friends that day!

That's my life is all about: Love people so they can love God.
I live for Jesus and I stand by the principles found in the word of God.
I do my best to be real and authentic!
I do my best to love and encourage others!
I make the choice to love so life is less of a grind.

This is Sherilyn, my wife of 20 years.
She is amazing, fun, and beautiful.
I am thankful for her.
March 1 is her birthday.
So, we are gonna have fun and take her out for dinner.
She's gotta work at J & H tomorrow, so I hope her time there goes fast!
Sherilyn is amazing at loving people and if you know her you appreciate her sense of humor and love for life!



Our life, we believe, is to love people the best we can.
I hope you find this blog encouraging as I ramble on about our life experiences!